Controlling Chaos
by Rioghnach's Reign
Summary: A saga. Starts as a story about Rogue training to understand her powers but evolves into something much more. Continuing almost directly from the end of the series, with more interwoven plots and characters than one story could normally handle. Fans of the comic, movies and cartoons will see familiar themes mixed with my own twists and plot lines leading the way. Aptly named...
1. Chapter 1

**My first fanfic - enjoy! R&R! RR**

**Chapter 1  
**

Deep in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies, a feral-looking man stood; his dark scruffy hair being ruffled in the breeze. The day was clear, just moments before dawn. It was late August, and the air had a distinct crispness about it suggesting the end of summer yet still the faint scent of sweetness of late summer fruit, not over-powering but clearly present in the early morning dew. It would be time to return to the Institute soon, but not just yet.

Logan had had a long standing tradition of needing to get away from the Institute. Logan would never admit it, but the peace he had felt here could never compare to the feeling of belonging he got from the Xavier Institute. Still, it was easy to get claustrophobic in a place like that and, with heightened senses, near impossible to endure full time. Logan needed to feel free, but for all that Chuck had done for him in the past, he usually timed his wanderings so as not to leave them short-staffed. For reasons unknown, Alberta was his place of choice to wander. Maybe it was just a pathetic, and sometimes desperate, attempt to find out more about his past.

Logan stepped from the door of his dwelling, a small shack located high up in the East face of the mountain, facing the sunrise where on a clear day such as this you could see the Big Horn Indian reserve, North-West of Calgary. Logan stretched and sniffed the air outside his hand-built cabin. A true Wolverine starting the day by ensuring every muscle was awake and alert; ready to respond to the environment they found themselves in. With dawn all creatures big and small may stir and begin the day, or rest after a productive night. This was the time to hunt. Food supplies were low and the animal in him sensed the changing seasons and felt the provider instinct; this was the time to build stores. Knowing the fire would keep until his return, he glanced back at the cabin as if asking for permission to go.

Not needing much in the way of weapons, he grabbed some rope and set off downhill to the nearest water source. Clad in his trademark worn jeans, boots and wife-beater, he ran down at top speed through the forest, barely making a sound. This was what it was to feel alive, to embrace the animal within. Here, the Wolverine could lose himself to instinct and not feel ashamed of his feral side; after all, the forest may see all and remember all but does not judge.

A few hundred yards away from the edge of the clearing by a stream, he paused and sniffed. He knew his prey was near and off to the right. A stag emerged from the edge of the overgrowth. Cautiously, it looked left to right and stayed stock still for a few moments before proceeding with a lowered head to the water's edge. Jumping forth from the forest on the creature's right, in a graceful but powerful leap, the hunter bounded to claim its prey.

Snikt! Snikt!

Two sets of bone claws erupted from their flesh housing and struck the stag; three in the right shoulder with the majority of the force to knock the creature over, and three to the neck to make it quick. Adrenaline on an all time high the hunter stood over the animal, and breathed in the scent of her prey and something distinctly more masculine downwind. She retracted her claws and looked up through the white streaks of mostly brunette, chin-length locks. Over at the edge of the clearing, Logan stepped forth.

"I was gonna tag that one, kid." Logan stated gruffly, holding back his praise at that he hadn't noticed her approach until the strike. He also couldn't detect the smell of brimstone off her, indicating that she didn't cheat by teleporting to the location using Nightcrawler's powers.

"Sorry to spoil your fun." Rogue replied with a cheeky grin.

Being in Alberta for two months with Rogue was hardly a walk in the park, more like the toughest hike through the Canadian Rockies in Logan's life, or in as much of his life as he could remember that is. This had nothing to do with getting along with Rogue or not working well with her. In fact, despite being the oddest individuals of the Xavier Institute, they were actually one of the best pairings – as friends and teammates. There is nothing one wouldn't do for the other. Plus, they seemed to be the only two in the Mansion that could appreciate companionable silence. Even the telepaths didn't understand that. Having little control over multiple personalities hiding out in your head or possessing heightened senses that you can't turn off can be taxing. But a combination of the two, coupled with other re-emerging powers, proved to require something drastic for Rogue.

After surveying the damage inflicted to the stag at Rogue's hands, Logan could see the efficacy and precision of the strikes.

"I'm impressed, kid." Logan stated, not holding back the pride in his voice this time. Heck, after all she'd been through in the last year and how hard she had to work because of it, she deserved a little credit.

"We've been out here for two months, Logan, it's about time that Ah got somethin' right." Rogue looked down at the bloody carcass at her feet. With the adrenaline wearing off and Logan's abilities fading at her will, she started to feel a little nauseated by her handy-work. "Or wrong. Oh man, that's gross!"

"You're not gonna go all vegetarian on me now, are ya kid?" Logan replied with a grin as he tied up the deer with the rope he brought, preparing it to be hauled back up the mountain to the cabin.

"Hah! Yeah right," Rogue replied tapping her temple, "like you or Sabretooth would let me go a day without meat. It takes a lot of effort to cook my steak medium-rare rather than having it blue."

"I prefer medium-rare to blue, so I'd blame Sabretooth for that one." Logan didn't mind the banter when it was with Rogue – especially since she had been acting more and more like herself and was talking about the personalities she had absorbed; a marked improvement from bottling things up. Yeah, like he was one to talk. Logan hadn't opened up and talked about things more in the last two months but he may as well have had. Since Rogue had him in her head too, sometimes all they needed was a shared look for her to understand. It took some talking for it to work the other way though.

Looking at Rogue now, so at home in the wilderness of Alberta (for a southern gal), Logan noted that she had changed. Physically, she was the same as ever, although perhaps a little more tanned from the outdoors and less of requirement to cover-up her deadly skin seeing as it has been just the two of them. Ripped jeans, boots and string vests have been more her style here. But no, Logan noticed a change in her personality, or rather the re-emergence of her personality as the dominant figure from all the countless ones she has absorbed since the on-set of her mutation.

Since the night Mystique revealed her betrayal to Rogue, Logan had felt increasingly more responsible for Rogue's well being; these feelings better described as a unique bond of friendship than a father-daughter deal. After the night of Apocalypse's awakening, all of the personalities Chuck claimed to have driven out wasn't worth squat. Rogue had absorbed a huge number of powers and personalities under the influence of Mesmero in twenty-four hours. What Rogue kept to herself was that Apocalypse drained her of those powers but not the personalities – and if her encounter with Mystique had taught her anything it was that as long as there was a trace, she'd be able to tap into the abilities of those she had absorbed.

Touching Apocalypse worked both ways. He took all the powers from her and she took a glimpse of his memories and knowledge. She knew the only way to stop him would be to re-entomb him, and with the help of the X-men and Leech, she did just that. When it was all over, she admitted to Logan that she was at her breaking point.

The Wolverine had her back. He'd been watching her closely since that night when she first lost control. He could piece it all together faster than the others. He knew she'd been holding back the truth and enduring more than she had to throughout the crisis. It was at this point that Logan told Chuck he'd be taking her away for awhile. It wasn't a question asking for permission; it was simply a stated fact.

Once in the Rockies, Logan hoped that with meditation and hard work, Rogue could finally get a grip on how her power worked. He didn't mean her ability to touch; he was referring to the ability to tap into the powers of anyone she absorbed. Rogue admitted that the personalities were still with her. When the dominant personalities were in control she exhibited their abilities also, with little or no control. Where Logan took her had space to practise and hone these abilities. It was remote and isolated; no one would get hurt and no one could hurt her. Whether it would work or not - it didn't matter; if nothing else, the kid deserved a break.

After the first few weeks of working with Rogue, she was demonstrating more control over accessing the different personalities individually. With more effort she was able to subdue them on her own without Logan guiding her back. The powers were another issue. It took much longer to figure out the link between the personalities and the access of their powers. In fact, it was Rogue's idea to start with Wolverine's abilities. Claws and a healing-factor were not as destructive as optic blasts or an avalanche.

Logan's personality was one of the toughest to bring forth from her collection. Although it had dominance in her mind over the others, the huge gaps in his past it made it difficult to catch. However, once she had a hold over it, it was the easiest to focus on with Logan being right there with her.

To understand the link between his persona and his abilities, Rogue required a quick touch of the real Logan to boost the link. After a few sessions she no longer required the contact and understood the connection. Then she took to practising with the other personalities and powers, and focused on Logan's when she started to feel overwhelmed. She was now at the point of being able to focus on a person she had absorbed and their abilities at will. Logan wished he could take credit for that but all he really did was to give her the time and space she needed to figure it out on her own.

The frequent short touches with Logan were not without their consequences. Not the nightmares, she had those anyway – and not to be harsh on Logan but the nightmares she's had over the last two months were much worse. No, it was the first time she exhibited Logan's abilities without touching him. It happened a few weeks ago...

_Focusing on Logan, her mind went to the Weapon X memories. She was being tied down and submerged in a coolant with a tube to breathe. It was then that the needles advanced. It was then that she screamed..._

_Snikt! Snikt! _

_Bone-claws erupted from Rogue's knuckles. Blind fury took a hold of her. She swiped frantically at anything and everything in her way. She ran through an obstacle course of trees and logs and overgrowth, the sound of her heart pounding in her ears being her only link to reality. The adrenaline kept her going. It was after dusk when it happened but now well into the early hours of the morning before she stopped running. The adrenaline was gone and was replaced with fear and cold dread. Wolverine was fading and she was returning to normal, but she was still on high alert – the fight or flight response having taken over and being all too eager to fight._

_She never saw or even sensed his approach among the pitch black. Bursting forth from the trees someone bigger than her grabbed her wrists with his gloved hands and pushed her back against the tree, using the weight of his body to hold her in place until she realised she was safe._

"_Rogue! Look at me!" He urgently demanded of her. Rogue was coming out of her trance. _

"_...Logan?" She replied slightly confused. Logan smiled briefly at the recognition and released her wrists, and surveyed her for any damage. She appeared unscathed. At the same time, she lowered her wrists and examined the three protruding bone claws from each fist. She looked at Logan's clothes, seeing three puncture marks to his chest and many slashes across in triplicate. The skin underneath the ruined garments appeared unharmed but she knew that was not always the case. _

"_Are you alright?" They both asked each other at the same time, and both smiled. _

"_Yeah, I'm ok kid. You got the jump on me and a fair head-start while I recovered from it." There was no anger in his voice, only concern for her. Rogue nodded. _

"_...It was Weapon X..." She whispered. Logan looked down at the ground. _

"_... I know. I'm sorry." Rogue took his gloved hand and squeezed it._

"_Don't be. I guess we finally worked out how my powers work. I don't think the transition will be as dramatic as that for the other powers." She quickly assured him. "And we learned two new things."_

"_Yeah, you can take on physical manifestations," Logan replied taking her offered hand and examining the claws closer. "And I had claws of bone before the Adamantium. Can you retract them?"_

_Un-Snikt._

"_Yep," She smiled weakly at Logan, "That felt weird." Logan stepped back from her causing her to suddenly feel the chill of the night air encircle her. She looked up into the night sky and around at the darkened forest. "I guess we should go back to the cabin?" _

"_I hate to break it to you, kid. But you've been running solidly for the last hour away from the cabin." Logan stated. He looked over at her as she rubbed her arms for heat. Coupling the exhaustion and the adrenaline with-drawl with the chilly night air, he figured she must be freezing. Logan slowly pivoted on the spot to gain his bearings. He sighed. "I dunno, kid. There's not much out here in the way of shelter. We could build a fire but that alone won't keep you warm enough..." Logan stopped talking when he felt two small arms encircle his waist from behind, pressing his back to her. "Rogue, I..."_

_Bamf! _

_Suddenly, they were both standing outside Logan's cabin. Rogue had teleported them back home using Nightcrawler's abilities. Logan turned to look down at Rogue, this girl was always full of surprises. She smiled up at him sheepishly. He raised an inquisitive eye-brow at her. She still had her hands on his waist but drew them back fairly quickly when she realised that contact was no longer required; with a slight blush to her normally porcelain skin. _

"_Home, sweet home." She said. Funny, how Rogue considered this home now. "Well, Ah guess we should head in, it's been a long and eventful day." With that, Rogue turned to go inside._

"_That is has..." Logan sighed, barely audible. Watching her retreat, Logan's mind started calculating. They were about twenty five to thirty miles from the house, yet in a single teleportation, Rogue managed to get them back home. Filing this thought away for later, Logan followed Rogue into the cabin..._

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, he finished tying up the carcass and hauled it over his shoulders; a perfect picture of the male hunter-provider. They began their trek back up to the cabin. Rogue offered to help with the weight as a polite gesture but knew that Logan enjoyed the physical work of bringing the animal back up to the cabin. This way he could work off his adrenaline from not going for the kill himself.

"I'm surprised you have the energy to help with this, Rogue." Logan says when they had nearly reached the cabin. "After all, I was sure you were asleep when I set out a while ago, and you still beat me to the kill. I would have thought over-taking me might have worn you out a little, unless..." Logan glanced at her, one eye-brow raised in a mock-accusing look.

Rogue fully understood his implied accusation and with slight hesitation, blushingly she confessed: "Quicksilver..."

"Cheater." He inhaled quietly, but purposefully loud enough for her to hear.

"Hey, Ah'm not a cheater, Ah was just practisin'!" Logan nodded and threw down the deer just outside the cabin door. Rogue went into the kitchen and filled a glass with water and proceeded to drink and then get a glass for Logan.

"Let's get this thing sliced and diced." Logan stated. Rogue held out the glass of water to him. He then added for good measure, "Cheater."

Suddenly the contents of the glass swirled up and ejected straight in to Logan's face. Rogue had used her telekinesis abilities from Jean Grey on Logan.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Logan growled.

"It's not cheatin', it's practisin'!" Rogue retorted.

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N. Thank you for all the reviews and hits, much appreciated. So here's another bit of the story - furthering the plot a bit. And thank you to my housemate - Ultraviolet87 for beta-ing my stuff at home!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2**

A sniff of the air sent a thrill down the spine of the wolverine. Deer blood freshly spilled during the day. Some poor unsuspecting creature was stupid enough to get caught in the open. Another sniff pointed in the direction that the meat was carried off in. The cool night air invigorated the animal as he ran swiftly following the scent up the steep incline towards a dwelling. Someone had a food store here of freshly caught meat, put away to be devoured later. This warranted further investigation.

The nocturnal creature approached the growing intensity of the scent, but realised quickly that he was not the only one here. A low growl was emitted by a lone wolf who had followed the scent to the location. Not to be deterred, the wolverine emitted his own threatening growl. The tension of this intense feral face-off was cut short by a blood-curling howl. The wolf and the wolverine, top of the food chain and afraid of nothing, ran from the bounty – now knowing that this was not their territory.

Logan awoke from his nightmare, oblivious to the commotion outside the cabin, sheets clinging to his form, damp with sweat. Claws out and breathing fast, Logan took in his surroundings, coming back to the present he realised he was on the couch in his old cabin. Breathing slowly returning to normal, Logan retracted his claws and closed his eyes. He ran his fingers through his hair, pressing his palms hard against his skull, trying to make sense of what he saw in his dream.

It started off as his usual, terrifying Weapon X nightmare but had morphed into something darker and laced with guilt. Logan was once again being tied down and submerged in a coolant with a tube to breathe. Then the needles advanced but Logan was not harmed. At the same time the two other people present screamed. Logan wished he didn't recognise them, but he did. Two women were submerged in the tanks on either side of his, needles advancing relentlessly despite the screams of their occupants. One belonged to Laura, Logan's daughter, for lack of a better term, and the other was Rogue. The guilt hit him square in the chest, the pain and suffering both had been through because of him.

Because Logan had been termed "successful" in the Weapon X project, they had taken his DNA and created a child with his genetic coding and mutant abilities. Not a clone however, as it seems the creators thought they would have better luck controlling the subject if they replaced the XY combination in this coding to that of an XX coding. X-23, or Laura, was forced to a loveless life of being treated as nothing but a weapon and an animal since birth, and to top it off she had to endure a similar Adamantium bonding process as Logan for the six claws she possessed. Laura was suspected dead by the government after she blew up the mobile base, but Logan knew she was out there somewhere, free and living.

As for Rogue, she wasn't all that dissimilar from Laura. She too was a girl who, for most of her life, only knew betrayal and hurt. Everyone she had ever loved had used her as a pawn in their own plans. Everyone she met she kept at a distance, both physically and mentally. When she finally opened up enough to let someone in past the Berlin wall of defence she had built around herself they turned around and could have pummelled whatever faith she had left. Stuck with a power of absorbing powers and memories and witnessing firsthand not just the best and worst moments of everyone she touched or touched her, but their entire life up until that moment of contact. However, the worst moments tend to stick out the most.

A life like that would be a good enough reason to turn your back on the world. But when Rogue was needed, she never backed down. Heck, the kid's gone well beyond the call of duty on a number of occasions. The last thing she deserved was to know what the full Adamantium bonding process feels like, but she does. She only ever mentioned it to him once, when she learned how to connect to his powers. He had suspicions that it bothered her as much as it bothered him. But it wouldn't be the first time he was wrong. For all he knew, she could have bigger demons.

The promise of sleep returning now far off, Logan stood up from the couch and listened for a moment to ensure Rogue was okay and asleep in his old room. He was amazed that he did not wake her when he woke from his nightmare, positive that she was a light sleeper. Logan was happy that she felt safe enough here to sleep so deeply. A good night's sleep was hard to come by for both of them; Logan was relieved that he hadn't woken her. In need of air, he opened the door to the cabin and raised his arms up to touch the top of the doorframe, bare chest leaning into the breeze. The cool night air greeting him carried with it the scents of the forest and creatures, big and small, which were brave enough, or stupid enough, to venture near his territory.

oOo

At the same time in the Xavier Institute, a man sat regally behind a beautiful mahogany desk. As beautiful and as elegant as this nineteenth century, fully restored piece of furniture was, it was being ignored by its owner, who chose instead to face away from the desk and out the window. The desk could not be envious. Although much care that went into crafting the desk and restoring it, it knew it could not compete with the beauty of nature and vast grounds of the Xavier Institute. If only it wasn't an inanimate object, it would have had the capacity to observe that its owner was looking out at the view, but too distracted to take any of it in.

Charles Xavier sat staring at nothing, deep in thought. His elbows were resting on the arm rests of his wheelchair, his fingers laced in one another, and leaning slightly forward, brow furrowed. It had been over two months since the demise of Apocalypse, and for over two months he has been occupied by the same thoughts over and over again. The image that haunted him the most was of his star pupil, Jean.

Since Jean's powers suddenly advanced well over a year ago, Charles was afraid for her that something similar might happen again. The last time, the X-men pulled together to help her through it. Rogue siphoned off enough of Jean's energy for the others to get through to her. This gave Charles enough time to block some of Jean's power potential from her, for Jean's sake. But, in battling Jean as Apocalypse's horseman, Charles was afraid for himself.

He could remember the battle vividly. Never before had he felt so strong. Something about Apocalypse's futuristic technology in the collar he was wearing allowed Charles to reach the full potential of his powers. He even had telekinetic abilities. He felt amazing, drunk with power and it was glorious. None of his students sent to fight him had even caused him to bat an eyelid, none but Jean. He was aware of her power potential but her experience battling on the Astral Plane was limited. Charles had convinced himself before the attack that he would be able to take her on and win. She was determined, yes, but he was committed to the cause of Apocalypse. He would stop her or die trying. In the heat of the battle, Jean pushed herself to levels that neither she, nor Charles, had expected. Quite simply, she became more powerful than Charles. At that moment, Jean's entire presence felt dramatically different. At that moment, Jean did not exist.

After Apocalypse's demise, Jean was her normal self and thought nothing strange of her powers or the fact that she was able to defeat the world's most powerful telepath who was at the peak of his power with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Charles knew better. The flashes of the future obtained from Apocalypse showed Jean becoming completely one with this new power and personality. She may truly become invincible. Charles trusted Jean with his life. But this force or power was not Jean, and even if Jean's personality showed through, if she could not control it like last time she would become a danger to herself and others. If it got to that stage she would have to be stopped, one way or another.

These thoughts have been circling back and forth for weeks, and every time he came to the same conclusion and every time Charles felt a small part of him die. Charles looked out onto the quad out front from his window and his eyes focussed on a young couple who had only returned to the school the previous day. Scott and Jean were walking hand in hand across the grass, talking and laughing. Charles felt his heart break for them. He had no idea how much time they would have together before his visions came through. Both had been through so much they deserved to have each other and be happy. Would Scott survive the loss of Jean, if that is what is to come? Would Charles?

"No," Charles declared out loud, "this future must not happen. The future is not set in stone. It can be changed." He pleaded in desperate, hushed tones, "It must be changed... and I will change it." Charles moved from the room in silent determination and proceeded to Cerebro. It was time to reassemble the team. Everyone would be needed in this crusade.

oOo

The summer weeks had swiftly modulated to autumn. As tempting as it was to remain in Alberta, plans had to be made for Rogue and Logan to return to the Xavier Institute. Chuck had contacted them by Cerebro to enquire after their health and when they expected to come back home. The conversation was short, and sounded slightly urgent. Logan was a little curious as to Chuck's antics, he barely paused for a response as to how Rogue was doing, but Rogue didn't seem fazed by it. Rogue assured Logan that she was confident she was stable enough to return to Bayville now.

Logan busied himself preparing the motorbikes for the journey home. They could have sent for the X-jet to retrieve them but where was the fun in that. Knowing that they both were about to return to a busy mansion with few opportunities for freedom, biking across the country for a week seemed like a much more attractive idea. Logan packed up his belongings, not that he had much, and brought them out to harness to his bike. Logan went into the kitchen where Rogue's gear was packed and waiting. He took it out to her bike and secured it. Now all that was needed was Rogue.

Logan sniffed the air to track where she went to. She wanted a chance to think on her own before heading off. She wasn't that far away from the cabin, just out of sight in fact. Logan found her sitting cross legged writing in a journal. Logan cast a shadow over her book.

"Y'all set all ready, Logan?" Rogue asked without turning to face him.

"Thought you were supposed to be meditatin', kid?" With a tilt of his head he asked, "What are you writing?"

With a snap of the book, Rogue responded distantly, "It's nothin', just a diary is all." Only now did she turn to face Logan and indignantly she added, "And I was meditating!"

"Whatever you say, Stripes." Logan sighed, diaries and teens, always a touchy subject. But Logan respected her privacy. Rogue was the furthest thing from a teen most of the time, given the collective years of the psyches she has absorbed. But it was good to see her acting her age every once and a while. Logan held back a smile and offered her a hand to get up. She took his gloved hand with her own. First time the kid's worn gloves since they left the institute.

Slipping on their leather jackets, Rogue seemed hesitant to mount her bike. Instead she turned to look back at the cabin they were leaving behind. Logan placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Logan hates being mushy but he knows he has to make his point clear to her.

"Look Rogue, can always come back here. Think of it as your home too." Logan looked down at Rogue as she turned to face him; she smiled sadly back to him. Confused as to why she looked sad he felt the need to lighten the mood by adding, "Anyway, Lord knows I'm gonna need to get away from Chuck's mad house, too full of cocky teenagers high on sugar and hormones."

Rogue laughed, knowing full well how he really felt about the Institute, but she understood what he was saying. She was grateful to Logan for bringing her here knowing how private he can be, and was warmed by his open invitation. It was beautiful here and she really was going to miss it.

"Thank you, Logan. I'd really like to come back here." Rogue gave Logan a loose hug which he reciprocated.

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. Here's some more, thanks for reading everyone! R&R please, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 3**

The air danced playfully with the peaks and troughs of the ocean waves, as they have done since the beginning of the Earth and will do for many years to come. The currents in the atmosphere made sudden sharp movements that could shatter mountains or slow and gentle glides that could give the softest caress. A way-ward current was jutting in and out along some rocks that interrupted it's momentum along the surface of the water and the shore line, when suddenly it met an abrupt vertical cliff face. It and many other little air streams all rushed upwards along the cliff face towards the edge where two lovers stood gazing out at the view. The playful little air current met the outstretched arms of the young woman and mingled and swirled with her long red locks before dispersing upwards to dance forever more.

The young man, who was supposed to be watching the spectacular ocean view, could not tear his eyes away from the more amazing sight next to him. Fortunately, he could get away with openly staring at her, his Rose Quartz glasses hiding his eyes and their frequently deviated path. Jean Grey was the most beautiful girl he had ever met. She was also unbelievably kind and generous, and had such a lust for life. Even now, she was taking in the feeling of the air rushing past her, arms stretched out to her side like she was controlling the weather, eyes closed and chin raised elegantly. A small smile lit up her face, she was truly an angel. Scott Summers could not believe he was so lucky to be loved by her. The small smile grew to larger one.

"Scott, you're making me blush." Jean whispered as she opened her eyes and turned towards him, smiling all the while.

"Reading my mind again? Should I be apologising?" Scott replied with an apologetic face, but a slight grin twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Of course not, it was really sweet." Jean leaned in towards Scott and hooked her arm in his and started to steer him back to the mansion.

"Wait, Jean, before we go back, we need to talk about a few things." Scott stopped her, worry lines furrowing his brow. Jean sighed, not having to guess what he wanted to talk about. In fact, it wasn't fair that she made him wait so long without discussing it.

"About what happens now? I know. It's been on both our minds for awhile now." Jean took both his hands in hers. "The world is changing out there. Apocalypse was fuel to the fire for the anti-mutant campaigns, but I don't want to put my life, our lives, on hold. Prejudice like this doesn't go away over night." Scott looked down at their joined hands.

"So, you're gonna go ahead with college." Scott stated rather than questioned, while trying to keep emotion out of his voice. He tried to keep things positive. "Have you decided where you're going to go?"

"Yeah, I've been accepted to a few places. But I decided a while back where I wanted to go, just not when." She looked up with sheer determination on her face, "I've decided on Cornell. It's only a few hours from here if I'm needed, and they have a great Genetics department." Jean tried to hold back some of the enthusiasm from her voice but failed miserably.

Scott was still staring at their hands taking it all in and thought about it for a moment. He loved Jean with all his being, and has since the first moment he met her. But he knew that he couldn't leave the Institute. Professor X depended on him, this was his home. As for college, his interests in academics had faded dramatically over the years since joining the X-men. His favourite subjects used to be English Literature and American History. Now his favourite classes ran more towards tactical defence and military manoeuvres, and even Wolverine's training sessions. Plus, he finally convinced Alex to come here to learn more about his powers and how to protect himself. He didn't want to give up the opportunity to play the big brother role he had missed out on for so many years. Jean could literally see his thought process. Having seen enough, she interrupted.

"I know you want to stay on here with the Professor and Alex, and you should. You're a good leader and teacher, and a wonderful brother." Jean squeezed his hands in affirmation. "I'll admit, I'm scared to go to away, but excited too, you know? Anyway, after Apocalypse, how scary can college be?" They both smiled.

"Yeah, you're right." Scott paused and his smile fall as his face changed to concern, "I can't say I won't be worried about you. People know you're a mutant, Jean. Our faces have been in the papers and on the news more times than I can count," Scott raised their joined hands between them, "It will make you a target."

"I can handle myself, Scott." Jean stated, reassuring him and herself.

"I know you can, but I can still be worried. I think you should do what you feel is right. And I promise you," Using his left hand, Scott pressed both of hers over his heart, while his right hand tucked a single way-ward lock behind her ear and gently cupped her face, "I'm not going anywhere."

oOo

Xavier replaced the head-piece of Cerebro in its position on the interface desk. He felt drained and aged and completely distracted. He departed from the large dome room to the outside corridor. The doors locked behind him in a series of buzzes and clicked that was like a second language to him. He carried on down the corridor and did not see the big blue beast appear in front of him. Hank McCoy was emerging from the multimedia conference room where he had been going through achieved files and news footage. Hank looked up from his notes to see greet Xavier in time before a collision.

"Charles, I was just coming to see you." Hank politely announced himself, snapping Xavier from his thoughts.

"Ah yes, Hank, any progress with your research?" Xavier responded, waking up from his reverie.

Since returning to the Institute after Apocalypse was defeated, there have been an increasing number of anti-mutant attacks. Efforts to interrupt these incidents have been weak. Unless one was happened upon, the attacks were too random to predict. Hank has been trying to keep track of the anti-mutant demonstrations and attacks. Most media reports had been angled to make it look like the mutant in question had lashed out and ended up causing the damage himself. Interestingly, many have not found it odd yet that most of these mutants caused this damage by fire and large amounts of accelerant.

"Some, but not enough to brag about." Hank sifted through his notes, "Seems that most of the attacks are unplanned, heat of the moment or alcohol fuelled arguments that go sour, and these are the attacks which are the least 'successful'. The mutants, or mutant sympathisers, nearly always manage to evade harm with minimum collateral damage."

"And the other attacks?" Charles enquired, not looking forward to the answer as they moved down the corridor and along the path that would take them to Xavier's office.

"Yes, well, there have been a number of arson attacks that have been quite vicious, and unfortunately, have been 'successful'. These seem to be organised. And what worries me most is that the same attack formula is being demonstrated all over the country at random intervals."

"You believe there is a single organisation behind these?" Charles questioned, seeing where his friend was heading.

"Yes, but I have yet to find a trend that could help us identify these people." Hand sounded disappointed and as tired as Charles felt.

"That is worrying, Hank. Most of the students will be returning soon, so we will have more people working on."

"Most? Are some of the students not coming back?"

"Unfortunately, no, a few will not be returning. After spending time with their families and seeing the news reports, some students feel that their place is at home. Mr. Gunthrie has informed me that he won't be returning until he is sure they are safe. As much as he wanted to be here, he doesn't feel right leaving his family behind to fend for themselves as mutant sympathisers when he could protect them."

"That's understandable. I heard Alex Masters will be joining the ranks?"

"He's Alex Summers now, and yes. Scott convinced him on his last visit to Hawaii. Jamie Madrox will be returning tomorrow, although his parents were quite reluctant. I'm sure his skills would be appreciated for this research?"

"An extra few sets of eyes would be of great benefit, yes," Hank rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his blue furry nose, "Mine are threatening strike action. However, Scott, Bobby, Amara and Tabitha have been wonderful."

Scott had only left the Institute to visit Alex and Jean at their homes since the defeat of Apocalypse. Here was Scott's home, and now, so it was for Bobby Drake. Xavier knew Bobby never told his parents, but after all the news footage of recent events it was unavoidable that they would find out about his mutation. Bobby thought it would take them awhile to get used to the idea, but when he met them face to face – the way they looked at him, he was no longer their son. Bobby was heart-broken, but Xavier made it very clear that he would always have a home with the X-men. He had friends here who were very supportive to him during this time. Amara Aquilla had wanted to visit her family in Brazil but after the trip on the cruise a few months back she was reluctant to leave the ground with the effect it would have on her powers. Her father flew to Westchester instead to visit her. Bobby and Amara were still training hard under Scott and Hanks guidance, but there was always Tabitha Smith to keep things from getting too serious. At times like these, Tabitha was always full of energy that breathed new life into people. Hank deeply appreciated how hard they have all been working during the last few months, but they've been working to close to this project and new eyes were needed if they were to progress.

"Well, Wolverine should be returning with Rogue in a few days. Kurt and Rahne's flights are scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning, however I think they may be delayed due to bad weather. Oh, and Storm is due to arrive this evening, as is Kitty."

"Kitty has shown exceptional skills in computer programming, she may be able to write a programme for these attacks that could help us spot any trends." Hank had noted his pupil's excellence in IT and physics before he became the Beast. Another thought struck him, "Forge would be good to have around, if he is available."

"He would, but he hasn't been in Westchester much over the last few months." Hank and Xavier knew that Forge was working hard to reconnect with his past life and struggling to find a place in this time, having lost twenty years of his life due to an experimental error. As much as they would benefit from his help, they would only take it if he offered it.

"So how is Rogue doing? Last time I saw her she looked like she needed a break." Hank said changing the subject.

Rogue... In his haste to get organised, Xavier realised he never even asked Logan about her. He felt disappointed in himself and it must have showed, as Hank was able to read him as easily as if he had telepathy.

"Hmm, I see. I guess you were distracted? Anything you would like to discuss?" Hank's eyebrows were drawn together in concern.

"Hank, some of the visions I received from Apocalypse of the future are already coming true. Increasing riots, anti-mutant attacks across the country. It makes me feel like time is running out." Xavier paused to decide exactly how much he should share with his old friend. Should he tell him about what was worrying him the most? Should he tell him about Jean? "Hank, one of the visions was chilling to the core. It was of... Fleets of sentinels, like the one the team faced not so long ago, as well as the proposal of a Registration Act by the government, forcing mutants out of hiding against their will. And the most infuriating part is that I have no way of knowing when these things will happen. Some we have already seen happening." Xavier was well aware that he was leaving out the vision that was giving him the most grief, but that was to be his cross to bear for the moment.

"Perhaps Kitty and I can monitor for suspicious activity, such as large deliveries of the components required to make sentinels, alongside monitoring the attacks?" Hank suggested.

"Yes, Hank, I believe that that would be a good idea." They had reached Charles office and down the hall, Scott and Jean could be heard conversing. "Now, if you would excuse me, I must make a phone call to an old friend. Oh, and I do believe that Ms. Pryde has arrived at the front gates if you wish to greet her." Xavier smiled at his friend and closed the door to his office.

oOo

_The sun set over the Serengeti, a silhouette of the local wildlife was cast against the blood red sky, the colour accurately depicting the events that were to occur near the tribe. A little girl, lost but making a home with these people was frightened. They had heard whispers on the wind of guerrilla war-fare in the area, and it was heading their way. The country was in unrest, but that had little to do with this tribe who kept to themselves__, politics and war did not interest them but it would find them._

_The little girl with chocolate skin, white hair and piercing blue eyes__ clung to her foster mother, as the soldiers came and dragged out the men and boys from their families to recruit them, or kill them. It was when they grabbed a little boy called Mirambo that her fear connected with something deeper within herself, that was when the heavens opened, and lightning split the sky..._

_The __ice cold rain was pouring down hard against the side and roof of the wooden shed that was supposed to be considered shelter. The windows were long gone and replaced with bars at the start of winter to increase their suffering in the over-crowded prison. A little boy marked with a gold star, along with others of the same fate and faith, was pushed out into the rain and forced to stand in line with the rest. Months of malnourishment had made the simple task of standing still an impossible feat, the boy faltered to his knees, and quickly had a gun placed to the bottom of his skull._

_There was no warning, the__ir captors using any excuse to reduce the camp's population. The boy did not want to accept this to be his end. Fear and adrenaline mixed together and the boy suddenly knew he was meant for something greater. The gun clicked to execute him, but instead the gun back fired, destroying his would-be executioner's right hand, just as an allied plane flew close to the ground..._

_Screaming and shouting alerted the young boy, barely a teenager, from his dreams. Following the sounds, his adrenaline was pumping. With each beat of his heart the voices became louder, and scents around him overwhelmed his senses. Opening the door to his mother's chambers he came face to face with the horrific scene, just as the gun went off. _

_His father's lifeless body was falling back as the smoke was still billowing from the shot gun held by __the man who used to be trusted by his family. The coppery smell of blood awakened the animal within. His senses overloaded he could no longer rely on functioning thought but only on instinct. Swiping madly and randomly at first in pure rage, the animal was re-directed at one man. As he went to punch him in the stomach, the claws he never knew existed erupted from his hands..._

_In the middle of nowhere, f__ar from civilisation a group of nomads had gathered. There was word of the rash acting ruler of a far away land had committed genocide, out of fear for his throne. Word of these treacherous crimes reached the ears of a lone traveller who stopped for news in passing. Recognising the name of his homeland, he set off to return. The dessert was void of life save for this one man. The blistering heat never bothered the young man, but this was no ordinary boy. Returning to his former homeland he heard of who was targeted by their ruler, and rushed home only to find a mass grave where his home once stood..._

Rogue woke suddenly, her breath shaky. Panicking, she sat up in her bed and looked around the room not remembering where she was, and almost forgetting who she was. The street lighting shone through the gaps in the curtains that were drawn most of the way across the windows. She was remembering now, she was at a Travel Lodge about 30 miles beyond Toledo. She opened the curtains to look out at the street, letting the cool air conditioning soothe her and calm her. She let the dream fade to a memory, fearing that it was never really a dream to begin with.

**End of Chapter 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N. Hi everyone! Thank you for reading, here's a little more! R&R please, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 4**

The sunlight was just barely reaching the top of the buildings in the sleepy town. Some of the people of Fremont would be waking up to go to work, others would be just finished their shift and returning home to see their families and go to sleep. Undoubtedly, due to it being the closing days to summer, there will be students still sleeping with no intention of rising for another few hours.

Click, Cl-Click, Cl-Cl-Click, Click...

A local man in his early twenties and of Mediterranean descent sat at the counter of a small diner attached to a travel lodge, tapping away at his laptop. Dressed in a suit with his jet black hair styled suitably for the life of a business man, the organised sales rep was preparing for the day ahead, checking e-mails and traffic and weather reports in the areas of interest on his Vaio laptop. Normally he wore a winning smile but today he was frowning.

"Aw, c'mon!" He shouted in frustration, aimed at no one in particular seeing as there was barely anyone in diner this early in the morning. Fortunately, his best friend from high school owned this establishment and was behind the counter preparing a fresh pot of coffee ready to hear his woes. As was the girl within ear-shot, reading the morning newspapers, sipping her black coffee.

"What's wrong, Chas?" His friend asked from behind the counter. He was tall, about six feet, and was well built wearing jeans and a dark navy t-shirt. He had messy, but short, dark blonde hair matching the stubble on his chin. A short apron around his waist, he tossed a towel over his shoulder and leaned his elbow on the counter, holding his forehead in jest as if to hear his friend confess his sins.

"This damn thing," He declared, referring to his laptop, "it keeps losing the signal!" He slapped the side of the machine lightly. Pulling the towel from his shoulder and leaving it on the counter, the owner set to work.

"Sorry, keep meaning to a have a look at the router." He stepped around the counter and headed over to the phone where the wireless modem was set-up, which was very close to the table where the girl sat with chin-length brown hair and white streaks that framed her face.

"Thanks Ryan." Then in hushed tones, though not low enough for anyone in that room would care for, he added, "You know, there's probably some Muties in the area messing with the WIFI, I heard they can do that." Ryan scoffed at the idea, facing away from his friend towards the router and to Rogue with a playful smile, he winked at her.

"Where on Earth did you pick that up, Chas? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" As he was talking he placed his hand over the modem and stared at it intensely. Rogue watched as his hand hovered over the machine and glowed slightly, the lights on the modem flickered and he was done.

"Okay, okay, it was just something I heard. Hey, signal's back! What was wrong with it?" Chas asked his friend, no longer really listening as he was back checking his e-mails once again.

"Oh, you know I'm no good with these things. I re-set it, you know, just turned it off and on again." Smiling at Rogue, he said to his friend, "Usually does the trick! Can I get you some more coffee, miss?" Rogue folded her paper, finding this current affair far more interesting.

"Sure, thanks." He reached behind the counter for the coffee pot, Rogue looked over at his friend at the counter, making sure 'Chas' wasn't listening before she added quietly, "Nice trick." He smiled and shrugged as he re-filled her coffee cup.

"Nah, it's not that impressive really, at least not by comparison." Rogue looked at him, silently asking how much he knew about her. "There's a pretty good article on page nine." He gestured to the paper Rogue had folded away as Logan walked in. Rogue reached for the paper again as Logan sat across from her.

"And what can I get you?" Ryan looked at Logan.

"Coffee. Black." Logan grunted. Rogue had opened the newspaper and was flicking back through it.

"Anything else with that?" He asked Logan, not needing to write anything down as the place was so quiet. Rogue had found the article she was looking for.

"Surprise us." Logan grunted back to this kid, who was way too helpful for this hour of the morning.

"I think he already did." Rogue said, looking up from the article. She twisted the paper around for Logan. There staring right back at them were pictures of them and others from the team from the Sentinel attack and, more recently, dealing with Apocalypse, obviously archived under 'mutants', as the piece was titled 'Mutant Registration Act'.

"I'll be right back with your orders." Ryan departed to back behind the counter, to prepare breakfast. Logan looked up from the article to Rogue.

"What's that guy's deal?" He growled.

"What? You don't like him?" Rogue asked, playfully. Again, Logan growled in response. Rogue rolled her eyes. "Just wait 'til his friend leaves, okay?"

"Fine." Logan reluctantly replied.

As if on cue, Chas gathered up his laptop and gear and left some bills on the counter, before exiting to his old Mercedes estate. Ryan came back to their table, arms laden with plates of food.

"Hmm, I wonder what his hurry is." Ryan said aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Yeah, I wonder." Logan repeated, raising an eye-brow at Rogue, who tried to avoid eye-contact. The blush of her cheeks giving her away. Ryan started putting down the plates.

"Well, anyway, full English for you, sir, extra bacon, and Belgian waffles for you, miss. Oh, and coffee. Black." Last item placed on the table, Rogue put away the paper again.

"Thanks, looks great." Rogue paused before launching in to the topic they seemed to be tip-toeing around, the elephant in the room. "So... you're a mutant."

Snikt!

Rogue looked at Logan, who had paused from eating; now thinking it was socially acceptable to use his claws in present company to stab some of the bacon on the side dish, which just happened to have the extra added bonus of looking threatening in case this guy decides to try anything.

"Yeah..." Ryan answered distractedly, eyeing the three protruding claws from Logan's right hand, while the fork remained in his left, but then snapped back to the current conversation. "But like I said – it's not all that impressive, I just talk to machines. Comes in handy and it's easy to hide, so I'm not complaining."

"My name's Rogue, and this is Logan." Rogue offered her gloved hand, which Ryan shook. He was tempted to kiss her hand instead, but seeing her friend with the claws he thought that the action might cost him a limb.

"Ryan Kane, owner of this fine establishment. Well, for now." His easy smile changed to a troubled frown with those last few words.

Un-snikt!

"For now?" Logan enquired, he and Rogue quickly polishing off their food.

"Well, if that Act goes through, who knows? 'Muties' might not be allowed own their own property, and if we are, I'll lose out on too much business if I'm forced from hiding." Ryan, though a grown-up business owner, couldn't hide the fear in his eyes that showed how young he still was, just a kid.

"The Xavier Institute can help, if it came to that, bub." Logan gave him a card with contact details, as well as enough money to cover the meal plus a generous tip. "Speakin' of, we gotta get goin' if we're gonna get there today." Logan directed at Rogue as he stood up from the table and headed for the door.

oOo

"Okay, so I've, like, linked up the system that Amara and Mr. McCoy started to scan all the online news channels that have live streaming, and the police reports and scanners, so it picks up the location and time of each attack, then I programmed it to open a file for each new attack, using those as the labels. We get notified when a new file is opened, like, I've opted for a text alert on my cell, but it's totally flexible. Any additional information mentioned during the news report or in later reports will be filed accordingly, they should all have a standard format – method of destruction, suspects involved, the number of people injured or killed (ugh! - icksome) and suspected motives of attackers, and of course and miscellaneous info section.

"Now, the next bit I'm still working on is the cross-referencing program for all the individual files created. But that should be no biggie. In the mean time, Jamie and Bobby can still examine the cases for trends by just scrolling through them until it's ready."

"Mein Gott, did she even pause to take a breath?" Kurt whispered to Bobby when Kitty had finished. Kitty was presenting the work she had done over the last few days since her arrival. They were in the mulitimedia conference room, where she had an audience consisting of Mr. McCoy and Ms. Munroe, Scott, Amara, Bobby, Jamie and Kurt.

Kitty had lost Kurt, about half-ways through her spiel, but Hank, Ororo, Scott and Amara followed it and were suitably impressed.

"But here's my favourite bit. I'm working on hacking into supplier information and purchased items for red flagging things, like, for example, large amounts of gasoline, hopefully that will be our first lead so maybe we have shot at stopping these creeps before they do some major damage. I'm hoping the same idea can be used to track other items that are needed to build sentinels. I have no idea what those would be but Forge will be back in town next week so he could provide us will a check list.

"The system will cross reference each new piece of information with existing files but that's as far as its intelligence will go for trend mapping. We'll still have to do some old fashioned detective work. I'm thinking of tapping into the social networking sites for links between locations of attacks and groups that share any anti-mutant sentiment, but they're tricky."

"Is anyone else scared or is it just me?" Kurt whispered to the others in his Bavarian accent, he received blanks stares back. "Great, just me then?"

"Kitty, how much of this is legal?" Ororo inquired, with a sceptical brow.

"It's better if you don't ask that question, Ororo. Plausible deniability." Hank answered for Kitty.

"I see." Just as Kitty had finished her presentation, Tabitha had entered out of breath. Ororo was first to notice her. "Tabitha, what's wrong?"

"Jean, she's in the Danger Room and she's pretty ticked off!" Tabitha blabbed between gasps of air.

"What happened?" Scott demanded, setting off at a run for the danger room along with Ororo and Hank.

"No idea!" Tabitha was following behind them, as was Bobby, Amara and Kitty.

"Well, how upset is she?" Kitty asked, struggling to keep up as they all entered the Danger Room control room where Kurt had teleported and was reading the display screen.

"She's running one of Wolverine's sessions." Kurt answered her, earning a look of shock and fear from those around him, as Scott picked up a folded sheet of paper that was next to the control panel. Now knowing what had set her off, he looked out the bullet-resistant glass window and down into the Danger Room where Jean was venting her anger.

oOo

At a Kwik Fill service station on the Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, Rogue and Logan were taking a break, Rogue sitting on the wall and Logan leaning against it, by their bikes after they had refilled them. Rogue was biting her bottom lip, quietly playing with the few loose threads on her jacket sleeve while Logan drank his coffee and read his newspaper.

"Just spit it out, kid." Logan, who noticed her nerves, peered over at her, though it was hard to notice as he was wearing his sunglasses.

"What do you mean?" Rogue looked up like a deer caught in head lights trying to reason with the oncoming traffic.

"You've been debating about whether or not to say something to me since we left Alberta a few days ago. So just say it, cause it's drivin' me nuts." Logan took another mouthful of coffee. Rogue paused before launching straight into what's been bothering her.

"I've been wonderin' if I should tell the others about the powers I've accessed. I mean, I don't think I could hide the claws for very long so I'll probably have to explain those, but the other powers?"

"They're your teammates, Rogue, they should know your capabilities." Logan sounded pretty black and white on the issue. Rogue rushed to explain herself.

"But that's just it, I don't really know my capabilities, we haven't really put them to the test yet. I mean, I can tap into some of their powers, but I haven't accessed all of them yet. And what would happen if I was using one, and then tried another and lost it, I could really hurt someone." Rogue was starting to panic. Logan put down the paper on the wall, giving her his full attention.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, kid. It could happen." He said as he took off his sunglasses to look at her eye to eye.

"Gee, thanks Logan, way to ease my mind." Rogue rolled her eyes at him.

"What I mean is that anyone at the Institute could lose control of their powers at any time, that's why most of the kids came there in the first place, to learn control. You don't get that from sitting on the fence." Rogue hopped down from the wall she was sitting on, knowing that he didn't mean it literally... but still.

"But what if I frighten people, Logan?" The irony was not lost on either of them, as her day-to-day wardrobe choices clearly stated 'approach at your own peril', though they both knew that it was quite literal, as it was a safety mechanism to keep people from getting too close to her deadly skin.

"I don't understand." Logan studied Rogue, as she rubbed her arms and shifted uncomfortably.

"The others, what if their scared that I'll lose control again, knowin' the powers I've collected. I could be really dangerous, Logan. I just don't want them to be afraid of me." Rogue's normally tough exterior was cracked and vulnerability showed through, Logan couldn't help but acquiesce.

"They're your friends, Rogue, you're teammates. They'll understand. But if you're worried about it, we can keep it to ourselves for awhile longer; keep training until you're comfortable with it." Rogue visibly relaxed.

"Thanks Logan, that's a load off."

Logan picked up his paper again as he added as an afterthought. "I'll arrange with the Professor to fit in some extra sessions in the Danger Room for us." Rogue's head snapped towards him.

"Y-You're not gonna tell him why though?" She stuttered with her eyes a little wide.

"You don't even want to tell Xavier?" This time it was Logan's turn to sound slightly alarmed. Rogue shrugged it off trying to sound casual about it.

"He already has enough on his plate, trust me." Logan thought that was an unusual thing to say, but he played along because of those two little words at the end.

"Fine." Logan replied gruffly, finishing his coffee. "We should get going."

Rogue and Logan both set off on their motorcycles again to complete the last leg of their journey to the Institute, unaware of the drama awaiting them there.

**End of ****Chapter 4**

A.N. Chas and Ryan Kane are of my own imagination, if they resemble anything in existing fiction it was completely coincidental. And if Ryan Kane resembles anyone in real life, again, coincidence - but a coincidence I would definitely like to meet. C",)

Oh, and there will be some actiony bits in the next one with the whole gang together again!


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N. Me again, thanks again for reading! This is so much fun, I hope that I'm keeping y'all entertained! R&R please, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 5**

The laser gun was rotating on a pivot about twenty feet off the ground, attached to the wall by a bracket. It was brought to the young mutant's attention when a laser beam shot down at her from above missing her by millimetres. It's understandable how she was distracted as she was trying to avoid the blasts from the moving tracker unit that was following her across the multi-level obstacle course. The course was designed by someone who believed that the best defence was a good offence. Hence, the course's strategy was offence against the opponent, as was the strategy of the mutant. Stealthy devices designed to do serious harm were popping up all over, this laser gun being the latest threat.

She was a rational thinker, she figured things out.

More laser shots flew past her. She raised a psychic shield at almost a perpendicular angle to the laser beam from the laser gun and deflected the beam to the bracket supporting the gun, blasting it from the wall. No power, no threat.

She was never rash acting, she always thought about the consequences of her decisions.

To protect herself, she held up the shield around her as the blaster fell. The tracker had caught up with her again when she paused and was firing at the shield.

She tried to be a good person, tried to think of things from the other person's point of view, although being a telepath sometimes left little to the imagination.

Catching the falling blaster with her telekinesis, she sent it hurdling against the tracker unit, sending it flying back twenty yards. The course was adapting, however, the next threat was about to electrifying the floor.

She reasoned with people, talked to them, she didn't fly off the handle when she was cross or upset.

The current ran through her, causing immense pain. Though electrocution was quite distracting, she was able to concentrate enough to levitate from the electrified floor. Five flying solid metal spheres headed straight for her trying to catch her off guard.

She was a good student, a damn good student. As ambitious as she was being, she knew she would work as hard as anyone to get where she wanted to go.

The second she was raised from the floor and had her wits about her, she sensed the flying objects without looking. See the tracker unit in front of her, she pictured the spheres curving around her and stretched out with her telekinesis. The spheres deviated from their destined collision course with her and flew around her, now in her control, to strike the tracker unit square in the power core, resulting in an explosion that through Jean backwards.

She had the skills, she would get the knowledge, and she had proven that she could handle herself in high pressure situations.

Steadying herself just in time before she impacted with the spiked wall that had popped up behind her in the centre of the room, circular saw blades replaced the spikes and surrounded her. Her normal bubble shield was sliced right through, the adrenaline was pumping through her, if the room could adapt - so would she.

She has helped save the world.

The constriction that she felt all around her was not from the attack of the machines, it was her shield around her. It was not the normal bubble shield - this one felt like it was burning in her skin. But it was too tight. She couldn't breathe.

She was angry at the world she saved right now though, who were they to judge her.

With all her strength, she pushed outwards and the shield grew from her about an inch around the surface of her skin. She could hear the circular blades grinding against the shield she built, casting sparks all around her.

She was powerful too, but just how powerful, she was starting to wonder herself.

With one last effort, she pushed outwards again with all her might. This time the shield visibly glowed and suddenly threw everything nearby out away from her with brute force. Only when the glow faded could see the damage she had done. It was then that she saw Scott lying amongst the wreckage.

oOo

_A f__ew minutes earlier..._

Scott had picked up the letter and scanned it through for what had upset Jean. The letter was official looking, typed, and immediately he could see why she was angry.

The Professor entered the control room and said that he had sensed the distress while using Cerebro. Scott handed him the letter.

"I've gotta get down there Professor and calm her down, before she hurts herself." Scott declared while switching his normal rose quartz glasses for his visor that he kept on him at all times. Xavier silently agreed.

"She seems to be doing quite well on her own." Kurt said, watching Jean knock out the tracker unit with the falling blaster gun.

"That's Wolverine's personal training program, it was designed with his healing factor in mind, not for Jean. Are you sure you can't shut it down from here?" Kitty was at the control panel. Her first instinct was to phase through it to short it out, but a quick look at the settings told her that Jean had set the default to continue running the program should anything happen.

"Sorry, she thought of that. The only thing that will shut it down is when she commands it vocally or finishes the course. She really didn't want to be disturbed." Kitty answered. Bobby scratched his head in confusion.

"But how can she do that, she doesn't have administrator access?" Bobby wondered out loud to the room, and received kind faces back from Amara and Ororo, but a sharp blow to the back of the head from Tabitha, who was not as forgiving.

"Hello, telepath!" Tabitha harshly reminded Bobby, with a tone that said 'Well, duh!'

Scott wasn't paying attention to any of these goings on, he was too focused on what Kitty had said.

"How does the course finish?" Scott demanded of Kitty. Kitty gulped, knowing that Scott would not appreciate the answer.

"Well, am... it's Wolverine..." Kitty uttered thinking that may be a sufficient explanation, but Scott gestured for her to continue. "It's only over when the player has achieved complete destruction of the course."

Just as Kitty had said that, an explosion had rocked the control room. Jean had destroyed the tracker unit and was falling backwards towards some spikes.

"Okay, that's it!" Scott turned to his furry friend, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Kurt, get us down there!"

Bamf!

The teleporter did as he was asked despite his fear of Jean's wrath. As the smoke cleared around him and Scott, they saw Jean being surrounded by circular blades at all angles. Scott was about to shoot one of them when a few nearby machines targeted him and Kurt. Fighting for their lives, they were too distracted to see Jean's shield until the glow alerted them in the last split second. Unfortunately, Kurt was too far away from Scott to teleport him out in time.

Bamf!

Scott was thrown back by the shield and hit his head hard on the metal wall, knocking him unconscious. Kurt felt helpless and ashamed as he looked on in horror from the safety of the control room with the others. Jean was looking at the destruction she had caused, her face paled when she saw Scott. Kurt grabbed Mr. McCoy and Storm to bring them down to give him medical attention.

Bamf!

oOo

The two motorcycles and their owners pulled up outside the main gate to the Xavier Institute - waiting for the electronic gates to open wide enough to let them through. Logan suddenly tensed. Rogue saw his reaction and brought forth his powers within her. Before Rogue could sniff the air to try and sense what he sensed, their sensitive hearing picked up the sound of an explosion deep underground, that gave a low rumble which was almost masked by the sounds of their engines.

"What was that?" Rogue asked Logan, both kicking their bikes into gear to set off down the long drive-way to the mansion.

"Danger Room." Logan growled.

When they neared the front door, they cut out the engines and abandoned their stuff outside and ran straight in at top speed to the lower levels towards the danger room. Reaching the main doors to the Danger Room, Logan placed his hand on the biometrics lock, but it didn't work. Rogue tried it after him, she was also locked out.

Snikt!

Logan popped the claws on his right hand and unconsciously placed Rogue behind him with his left hand as he approached. They both strained to listen for activity behind the door but it was eerily quiet. Rogue watched on as Logan raised his hand to use his claws to make a door just as Kitty's head and shoulders phased through the door.

"Mr. Logan!" Kitty exclaimed when she saw the claws heading straight for her. Logan growled.

"What the hell is goin' on, Half Pint?" Logan's expression softened when he saw how terrified she looked, not of him but what was going on behind the door.

"Scott's hurt, we're trying to move him. Jean's flipping out." Kitty answered him, trying to keep her voice from cracking. She grabbed Logan and Rogue each by the arm and pulled them through the door and into the war zone. Hank had just moved the final bit of rubble from Scott over at the left hand side of the room. Ororo was checking his vitals as Bobby and Kurt had teleported back from the infirmary with a stretcher. Kitty was right, Jean was hysterical. She was standing as far away from Scott as possible where Tabitha and Amara were trying to talk to her.

The room was littered by a mass of debris and mechanical parts all around the edges of the room, looking like they had been blasted out from the centre. Rogue and Logan were still struggling to understand what had happened, as near as they could figure, the Danger Room had malfunctioned.

"Red usually keeps her cool, why is she over there instead of helping with Summers?" Logan asked Kitty as the door opened up behind them with Xavier wheeling in, having only just managed to fix the door at last. Hank and Kurt had moved Scott to the stretcher with a collar around his neck. He had already come to, and they were trying to get him to stop moving, but the good news was that he was moving. They picked up the stretcher and carried him out the now open door to the infirmary.

"Because she's the one who, like, hurt him." Kitty informed them. Logan's head snapped back to Kitty, and then he looked at Jean again, and around the room at the damage she had caused. Rogue stood hugging herself, looking scared for the first time since that night in the woods in Alberta. Logan looked around at Charles.

"This isn't the welcome home you may have been expecting, Logan. Jean was training and seems to have over-estimated her strength. You can view the footage from the training session if you're curious, but right now I have to calm Jean down." Charles pressed his fingertips to her temples and closed his eyes, across the room Jean quieten and fainted into the waiting arms of Amara and Tabitha. They carried her across the room taking one arm each and followed the path to the infirmary.

Rogue turned around and headed out the door after Jean. Logan, wondering about Rogue's behaviour, followed assuming that they were heading to the infirmary, but Rogue took another path that led to the Danger Room control room.

"What are we doing here?" Logan asked Rogue as they entered the room, he picked up a discarded typed letter from the floor, and scanned through it.

"Seeing what we missed." Rogue tapped on the control panel to bring up the data and footage. "Jean set up the Danger Room to accept her as the only user and then ran your simulation with all the safety parameters turned off." Rogue searched through some more of the data as the footage played. "Look," Rogue pointed at the screen, "she was about fifteen minutes in when Tabitha tried to access the panel, followed by Kurt and Kitty. What in the world could have set her off to do something like this?"

"I bet I know." Logan answered, to which Rogue whipped up head around to the letter in his hand. Taking the letter from Logan, she read the relevant pieces of information from the letter out loud.

"Dean of Admissions at Cornell University... With respect to the acceptance of the offered placement... They've withdrawn their invitation... Due to the current economic and social climate... It had been brought to the board's attention... The mutant problem was unprecedented by the university... Yada, yada, yada..." Rogue handed the paper back to Logan, obviously irritated on Jean's behalf. "Someone 'brought it to their attention' that Jean was a mutant and now she can't go to college! No wonder she wanted to do something destructive."

Rogue brought the footage forward and they watched. Logan wondered why after Rogue had read the letter that despite being angry at the University, all semblance of fear that was present in her earlier had vanished and she was back to being her normal pensive self. What did she know that he didn't? They watched the footage in silence. Jean was good and was handling herself well, but it was clear why Scott entered the picture towards the end, it looked like Jean was going to lose. The explosion that Jean had caused had shocked them. Xavier had entered the room behind them at that moment, and the Wolverine had turned to him when they saw it was all over and growled.

"What the hell were you thinking, Chuck, letting Cyke jump in like that, him and the Elf were nearly killed. Scott doesn't have a healing factor or a force field to rely on." Logan berated Xavier for his apparent neglect. "It would have been better to let her work through it in her own time, if it was too much for her she would have told the program to stop."

"I understand your concerns, Logan, but if Jean had made a mistake we would not have been able to shut off the programme. Scott and I both agreed that intervention was necessary at the time." Xavier defended himself.

"I guess, we do what we have to, right?" Rogue said to him, walking out of the room.

Xavier looked towards Rogue, for the first time in that conversation, unable to determine how she meant that. He couldn't tell what it was about her that had changed but something had. He reached out with his telepathy, something he would never normally do in ordinary circumstances, and tried to see into Rogue's mind. Normally it was a tall order, and often he received jumbled responses from all the personalities in her head, but this time all he got was static. Rogue was different.

**End of ****Chapter 5**


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N. I think I'm enjoying this way too much since I only put up Chapter 5 yesterday! Please review! Thank you everyone! RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 6**

Finished unthreading the screws holding it in place, the young mutant removed the scorched side panel and left out a respectful whistle.

"How is it?" Amara asked over the intercom from the control room, as the young mutant discarded the panel, letting it fall thirty feet before hitting the ground.

"It's the same as all the others, totally fried, man!" Forge answered, as he hung by his rock climbing equipment, which he always used when he was working on the Danger Room. He looked like an adventurous window washer. "If I didn't know any better, Amara, you would have gotten the blame for all of this." He gestured to the rest of the room.

Every major access panel had been opened to assess the damage, panels discarded to the floor along with the rest of the debris. Normally the Danger Room would clear the simulation at the end of the run and return to its normal standby position of being a big empty room. But since Jean blew it up, the simulation froze the way it was after the explosion.

"If it was Amara, I don't think there would even be panels left for you play with." Bobby added playfully from the control room.

"Groovy, she managed to warp and sever every connection in the room, while only scorching the covering the panels a bit. I take it back, Amara, this was definitely the work of a telekinetic. This is a mess!" Forge said, too distracted to hear Bobby's comment. Shifting his right hand into its robotic form he concluded, "Well, I guess here is as good a place to start as any."

Up in the control room Bobby sat back and watched as Amara looked down at Forge waiting for his signal. She was really good with electronics, not as good as Forge, but she was definitely here for a reason. Bobby, however, felt a little out of place. Moments later, Forge had already found the link to the main power supply and was reconnecting it. When he gave the thumbs up, Amara was to fire up the Danger Room on its most basic settings. Forge gave the signal and Bobby moved back as she pressed a few buttons and typed in the necessary codes.

Amara backed up towards Bobby as the machine flickered to life before causing one of the other consoles in the room to explode. They jumped, Bobby grabbed Amara and pushed her behind him, shielding her from the sparks that emitted from the console. When he realised the explosion wasn't that bad Bobby blushed and Amara rushed over to cut power to the console.

"Hey, what happened? Which one blew up?" Forge's voice came over the intercom.

"Which one?!" Bobby demanded, "You knew one would explode?!" Bobby was looking out the window down at Forge, and he was furious.

"Relax man! It was just going to be a minor explosion..." Forge shrugged. Amara moved Bobby aside from the intercom to answer Forge.

"It was the Danger Room access and security system that blew." Amara supplied over the intercom. Seeing Bobby's face, she added to Bobby, "It was only a small explosion." Bobby stormed out of the control room and headed straight for Forge in the danger room below. Amara sighed, and said to herself "Boys..."

Down below in the Danger Room, moments later, Bobby stormed in and iced up immediately. Creating a bridge between the door and where Forge was swinging, bringing him face to face with the other mutant.

"You should have warned us that that would happen!" Bobby shouted at Forge, adrenaline still pumping from what happened in the control room.

"So you got showered in a few sparks, what's the big deal?!" Forge replied nonchalantly.

"The big deal is that you're reckless, Forge. Amara could've been hurt." Bobby pointed out to Forge, a faint pink tinge creeping up on his icy cheeks.

"Oh, I see." Forge replied with a knowing smirk. "You think I would risk Amara's safety? Well, she would have had to be sitting on the computer when it exploded to have gotten hurt, and she has more sense than that. And last I checked, you're pretty reckless yourself. Or was that whole X-jet joyride thing just a rumour?" Forge took Bobby's silence as admission. "Right," Forge chucked a loop of copper wire he had around his shoulder to Bobby and smirked, "now if you're done lecturing me, go make yourself useful and super-cool this for me."

Bobby threw the wire to the ground petulantly and bridged over to the door and stormed out again. Forge continued his re-wiring, totally unfazed (pun not intended) by Bobby. When satisfied with his work, he gave the thumbs up sign to Amara. He could see a flash in the control room and clicked his communicator on.

"Amara, what happened that time? Amara... Hello... What went that time?" Forge asked, wondering why she wasn't responding.

Tap, tap, tap.

Forged looked around to where the tapping was emanating and saw Amara knocking on the window of the control room to get his attention. He saw her waving and pointing to the white A4 sheet she was holding against the window with his answer in the two words written on it.

'The Intercom'

oOo

Jean sat by Scott's bedside talking to him. He was awake and soon to make a full recovery. He had a concussion and a major gash in his thigh that had to be stitched up by Hank. He was not allowed to move from the bed for a few days so that he would not tear his stitches. Jean had been keeping him company since she woke after Xavier knocked her out, it was the least she could do. She felt so guilty for hitting him with that shield or force-field or whatever it was, but part of her was angry at him for being there in the first place. She was grateful that she was the only telepath in their relationship.

_S__he received the letter in the mail, an opened it excitedly seeing as it was from Cornell. She read through it believe she had misunderstood what was happening. When the meaning of the letter came through to her, she felt her heart break. She didn't want to break down in the middle of the common room, despite being the only one around. She tried to stay calm but she couldn't help but get upset. The ability to block out people's thoughts in the vicinity often depended on her ability to concentrate and staying calm. She started moving away from the common room and away from where people were gathered. She just needed to go somewhere where she could be alone to break-down. Before she knew it, her feet had taken her to the lower levels where she was faced with a cross-road in the corridor. Cerebro was off to the right where the Professor was, the multimedia room was to the left where nearly everyone else was gathered, and straight ahead was the Danger Room. _

_Jean headed to the control room and started feeling nauseous from all the voices of those in the building__. Before she was upset, now she was getting angry. She entered the room and was struggling to concentrate as she pulled up the usual simulations she ran on the screen before her. They weren't good enough though. They required thought; she needed something more instinctive to distract her. She found the perfect simulation, one designed and only authorised to use by Wolverine. Fortunately she knew everyone's passwords but never had the intention of using them. But this for just this once, she would use them. She took measures to lock out everyone so they wouldn't interfere as she knew they would if they knew what she was doing. Knowing they couldn't disturb her, she exhaled and let go of all that control and commenced her session._

_When she generated the shield, she felt so different. Good different. She felt the power burning through her skin, but it did not hurt. She felt herself almost give in to the power that wanted to be unleashed but s__he reined it in enough so that she was in control. All the power in that explosion came from her, and it was reined in. It frightened her, what she could be capable of if she ever let loose. But when she saw Scott... That was when she was really scared. She knew through their shared psychic link that he would be okay, but he was so still. She felt ashamed that she had gotten so carried away that she didn't even sense his approach. As quickly as it was which the letter, her sadness started changing quickly to aggressive thoughts. She kept thinking that he had no right to be there, that she could handle herself just fine, that she knew her limits. Well, she used to know her limits._

Since waking, they had discussed what she would do about Cornell. Jean said that she didn't want to do anything. This episode showed her that her powers may not be stable enough to go to college just yet. Obviously she was disappointed to not be going to college this year, but at least she can help the Professor at the Institute, and help with protests to the Mutant Registration Act. Scott hated to see her upset, or looking so defeated but at least one good thing would come of this; they would be together.

oOo

Down the corridor on his way to the infirmary to visit Scott, Bobby nearly walked right through Kitty. She held a clip board of schematics and lists of parts and equipment and rough hand calculations, looking lost and confused in what she was reading. Bobby was in need of something to boost his confidence (ego) and was eager to help a damsel in distress, welcoming the distraction from what had happened in the Danger Room only moments ago.

"Hey Kitty, do you need help with something?" Bobby asked enthusiastically rubbing his hands together, peering at her clip board and eager to get stuck into some project that had nothing to do with a certain time lagged mutant.

"Oh, hi Bobby!" Kitty looked up from her notes just long enough to greet him. "Thanks, that would be great, but I'm actually, like, looking for Forge. Have you seen him?" Kitty answered distractedly not noticing Bobby's disappointment and shoulders slump.

"He's in the Danger Room." Bobby replied totally dejected. Noticing his tone, Kitty looked up at him again and this time actually saw Bobby. She was about to ask what was wrong when Forge suddenly ran past them in a panic. Kitty was distracted again, now wondering what was wrong with Forge and forgetting about Bobby's woes, but that was okay with Bobby because for some reason he had cheered up again and was turning on his heel. "I think I'll see if Amara needs a hand." Smiling to himself, Bobby iced the floor and skated his way to the Danger Room, leaving a cold and confused Kitty behind him.

oOo

The pimped out SUV pulled up across the street from a rundown bar in New York City towards the docks. The bar had an air about it that suggested a history as old as the city itself, where many dark deeds and shady deals have been carried out over the years. The bar demanded fear and respect and almost judged the car that pulled up, and it's stench of new money.

A petit man with a suitcase stepped out of the vehicle and told his minders to wait where they were, that this was something he wanted to do on his own. He was dressed in an Armani suit that was recently tailored for him. It was new; everything had to be new with him.

He walked towards the run down bar that looked like it had long since been abandoned, which was far from the truth, as the bar had many very good customers that appreciated privacy and tipped well for it. The young man looked at the establishment with a sneer of disgust before he entered, thinking that this was exactly the type of place he expected his 'associate' to pick for a meeting. His handlers looked on from the car, thinking what an idiot their boss was to enter such a place without them. He was making their job impossible, and was being more and more reckless as the days went on.

Upon entering the bar he had to let his eyes adjust to the dim before continuing forwards to the corner. The bar wasn't very busy, but he was getting some strange looks from the clientele as he approached the man sitting at the table in the corner in the shadows. Just walking through the bar with an air of arrogance had earned him a few more enemies. The man in the shadows raised his head at his approach, glowing red eyes looking threatening but oddly hypnotising.

"You really look like you don' belong here, homme." Gambit greeted his client in his thick Cajun accent, smirking as the young man took a seat across from him.

"And you look like you do." The client retorted with an air of disgust. Gambit smiled, he knew he had just been insulted, but he was not going to lose his cool over a petulant remark such as that. Gambit waved over the rather tall and lanky bartender to their table, and as he approached he signalled that he wanted the same again, another bottle of Heineken, and gestured to his young friend to order.

"Same." His client responded, looking ready for a fight. The bartender walked away with their orders. Gambit smiled at the flicker of disappointment on the young man's face or, more accurately, this boy's face. Big cars and fancy suits don't mean you're grown up. Their orders were placed on the table, and the bartender quickly disappeared.

"Shall we get down ta business, mon ami?" Gambit began, sitting back in his chair, quite relaxed.

"Did you find them or not?" His client demanded, not liking to waste time. He wanted to be taken seriously, by him and by everyone. He hated people having fun at his expense. Gambit responded to his question by producing a set of folded schematics from under his long trench coat, and placed them on his side of the table.

"What you asked fo' did not come easy." Gambit stated in a tone that encouraged the haggling to begin.

"Would I have come to you if it was easy?" Gambit laughed, amused by this kid.

"I can't tell if you just insulted me or complimented me, homme." Gambit replied, taking another swig of his beer. His client sneered.

"I guess that's why I'm in charge then." As he said this he reached for the schematics on the other side of the table, but before he could move them Gambit had his hand on them and they lit up the entire corner of the bar, suddenly charged with kinetic energy. His client was startled and withdrew his hand from them.

"Now dat one I can tell." Gambit stated, less amused. He nodded his head towards the suitcase his client brought. "Open it." He commanded. Once he was satisfied with the contents of the case, they made the exchange - removing the charge from the schematics. His client flicked through the schematics, and slammed them down on the table.

"That can't be all he had?" His client demanded.

"Non, its not, mon ami!"Gambit paused for dramatic effect, "You asked fo' de schematics of one thing, and dat is exactly what I got fo' you, and fo' a fair price I may add." Gambit loved toying with this kid, but as fun as it was, he had an objective here and he wasn't leaving without a new deal. "If you wanted de paperwork on the other things, den you shoulda said so, 'cause the way I see it, we're ready for some renegotiations." Gambit flashed a charming smile as his client overcame the anger that boiled in him a moment ago to process what he had just told him.

"What other things?" His client asked, not being able to hide his new found interest to what the Cajun had to offer.

**End of ****Chapter 6**


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N. For those of you who suffered Rogue or Wolverine withdrawl in the last chapter, I present the next installment. Thank you for reading and please review. RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 7**

_Mortar__ shells were exploding all around them, but they were easing off in frequency. When they stopped completely they knew it would be a short lived redemption. When the shelling stopped it would mean the foot soldiers were coming to finish the job. _

_They had been dumped here unceremoniously two weeks ago, when they were parachuted in. The plane journey had left them so cold and numb, their fingers like__ icicles under layers of leather, wool and silk gloves, so numb that it was amazing everyone got their shoots opened in time. They landed harshly; the holes placed in the top of their shoots were for speed, not comfort. Dangling in the air at two-thousand feet makes for a nice and easy target, so it's best not to hang around for long. As soon as his platoon were on the ground they were heading North through the woods. _

_They arrived at their ordered destination, tucking their maps back into their uniforms. Using anything that could help them dig, they set to work trying to loosen up the frozen ground to make their fox-holes before the sun came up. They took up residence there for nearly two weeks. Their eyes locked on the hill ahead of them, straining against the freezing rain and long hours. The only thing breaking up the monotony of their view was a faint flicker of __someone lighting a match every now and again. This was of no use to them, however, as no one on either side was stupid enough to light the match for long. The matches were rarely used to light more than one cigarette at a time, but never three in one go. It doesn't take long to learn that in the trenches, the third would be a death sentence. Spot the light... Aim... Fire..._

_The camaraderie was all one had out here, jokes flying between soldiers hiding their fears. Not really saying much __of substance but speaking volumes. It was when the first shell fell, and the laughing, smiling faces of his friends were gone - some lost forever in self-dug graves. He never cared what happened to him but it seems his only purpose in life was to watch good people fall, and even if he fell with them - he always got up again but they never did. _

_He screamed and rose from his fox-hole in blind fury._

_Snikt, snikt!_

_Two sets of bone claws erupted from the layers of gloves and were directed at any one heading his way..._

Logan woke when he hit the floor, claws out and heart pounding. Recognising his room in the Xavier Institute, he stood up at the side of his bed and retracted his claws and ran his hands through his hair, returning to this life. He looked at the clock on his nightstand that glowed an unforgiving two a.m. in green digital numbers, the only thing lighting the room. It was okay, though, as he intended to wake up now anyway.

He got dressed in his jeans and black shirt and boots and jumped out of his window, landing stealthily on the patio outside. Like clockwork, a shadow appeared from one of the windows on the upper levels and climbed down to the ground, so careful not to use any powers, and took off at a run for the main gates. Logan followed her. Just outside the gates, she hopped on to her motor cycle and took off at high speed. Logan had planned for this. His bike was hidden not far from where hers was and he followed her, giving her a good lead since he already knew where she was going. It was the same place she went to, probably every night since they got back almost a week ago.

Spotting her bike a good distance away, near the entrance to the old abandoned quarry, he stopped his bike and left it out of sight. He followed on foot the rest of the way. The quarry had been flooded a few months ago for a new hydro-electric dam built downstream - creating a picturesque lake in its place. No one came up here, at least not at this time of night. During the day, occasionally, one may come across some divers carrying out rescue training simulations using the few abandoned buildings under the water as practise. But at night, this was where Rogue practised.

He could recall the first night he followed her here two days ago...

_Arriving by the lake, tyre marks from her bike suggested that she had been frequenting this place, even though it was the first night that Logan saw her leaving the Institute. __He saw her standing at the edge of the water on the stony shore. He kept low and downwind of her so as not to alert her to his presence, as he observed her behaviour. She had left the house so quietly, he knew why she didn't use any powers to sneak out but he still didn't know her real reasons for keeping her abilities a secret._

_She was staring out across the water, the light from the waxing moon the only source of illumination. __Rogue took off her gloves and tucked them into the back pockets of her jeans. She closed her eyes and inhaled and exhaled deeply as she concentrated on the powers she could bring forth the easiest as a warm-up exercise and as a method to keep her grounded. _

_Snikt! Snikt!_

_The set of bone claws Rogue had acquired from Wolverine erupted from her hands; she flinched slightly at the pain but kept her eyes closed nonetheless. Furrowing her brow, she concentrated harder and retracted her claws._

_Unsnikt, Unsnikt!_

_The wounds on her knuckles healed rapidly and Rogue opened her eyes to examine them. At this point Logan had caught on that Rogue had retreated here from prying eyes to practised, and waited to see what she would do next. Rogue walked over to a boulder approximately the same size as her near the water's edge. She stood up straight beside it and held out her hand and placed it onto the solid boulder that was still warm to the touch from the heat of the day. She stood there for a long time concentrating on the personality who owned the powers she was trying to access, she smiled on occasion as if in conversation with said personality, then she frowned and opened her eyes as she fell through the boulder she was leaning on, and gasped when she landed on the ground on the other side of the boulder with a thud, possibly bruising her hip from the angle of the fall. _

"_U__gh, that was graceful..." She murmured to herself as she picked herself up from the ground. Recovered from the clumsiness, she smiled at an idea forming in her head. She stood up again and put her feet together, knees bent slightly, and placed her hands above her head, tilted her head up to the night sky. She concentrated for a moment, then suddenly brought her hands down to her side and kicked off from the ground - the motion rising her up from the ground. _

_Logan was hypnotised at the sight of it. Although he was used to seeing things that defied the laws of physics in his world, including Kitty's phasing ability, this image of Rogue floating, no, swimming through the air was truly bizarre. The sight of Rogue using Kitty's powers in a way Kitty never had brought back the questions he had when Rogue managed to teleport them in Alberta from twenty-five to thirty miles in distance, when the Kurt had only ever been able to teleport himself up to a maximum range of two miles at a time. Logan wondered how much more there was to Rogue's power than he knew. He also wondered how much more she was hiding from him._

_Rogue floated back down to the ground, now finished with trying Kitty's abilities, she took up her stance to concentrate on another's. While concentrating, her eyes flickered back and forth__ under their lids like someone in an R.E.M. cycle. A single tear had escaped her eyes when she had finally connected to the personality, her muscles tensed up before being coated in a shiny metal protective layer. She had tapped into the powers of Colossus successfully and opened her eyes to reveal a pure white gaze. She took a moment to look at her skin, then turned on her heel and approached the boulder she had phased through just moments ago. Taking a strong stance next to it she raised her fist and struck the rock - pulverising it instantly with a loud boom. The rock dust hanging in the air started to settle around her as she transformed back to her normal skin, and looked around at the damage she had done. Wiping away the tears that had formed using his powers, she decided she had had enough for the night and rushed past where Wolverine had hidden himself and back towards her motorcycle to head home. _

_Last__ night, Logan had followed her here again. Same as before, she started off by focusing on his powers then took out a box of matches and a candle and lit it. She sat down on the ground cross-legged and placed the candle into the ground to stand by its self. She meditated for a while before Logan saw the flame grow in size and suddenly jump up into the air. Rogue opened her eyes and focussed on the dancing firestorm before her, making it zigzag and change shapes. Then, when she felt she had a good enough control over it, she completely extinguished it. _

_Refocusing her thoughts she held out her arms in front of her and stared at the centre of her cupped hands. She struggled a little, a sweat beads forming on her forehead, but soon a small orb of light was burning in her hands, and that was all she needed for Pyro's power to take off. Logan was seeing the trend that this was taking - Pyro had never been able to generate the flame, only manipulate it, but someho__w Rogue had been able to take his power to the next level. She played with the flame for a bit clearly delighted at the success of her experiment; she unconsciously let the flame take on various forms - a lion, a snake, a massive eagle. At the last form, she frowned and quickly extinguished it._

Tonight had started like the others, Rogue would focus on his powers first and then on the personality lurking within her to harness a new power from the chaotic collection in her mind. But there was something different about Rogue tonight, she looked more determined than he had ever seen her and a little scared. She was hesitant to take up her usual position for meditation, but sat down on the stony shore and committed herself to what she had to do under the audience of the cool starry sky.

Logan observed from a distance. He didn't like the way she felt she had to do this alone and that she felt the need to hide it - who was she trying to protect? He understood the loner vibe better than anyone, and how it doesn't mean that you don't feel like a part of a family, on the contrary, usually it's because you feel so much a part of a family that you think that you're the only one who can protect them. You always put yourself last and you'd sacrifice yourself first before any harm could come to them. So how much more torn could he feel when there were two such people in the one family, both as stubborn as the other, both not wanting to see the other in pain?

Logan waited to see the effects of meditation taking a hold on Rogue. She had found the personality she was looking for and was smiling. Like with Kitty, she was conversing with a friend. Her face flinched when going through painful moments and she smiled when reliving happier times with this person. The smile disappeared suddenly as she gasped and started to tremble. Tears were forming and started to fall freely down her cheeks. Logan fought the urge to go to her. If he interrupted this process it could do more harm than good. Her breathing became laboured then the trembling stopped as she suddenly found the connection.

"Mirambo!" Her head snapped up and her eyes shone white as she shouted the name of her friend.

Sparks danced around her eyes as the sky changed suddenly from being clear and peaceful to giant dark thunder-heads and sheet lightning. Rogue was recovering from the upset and now had full control of Storm's powers. She stood and raised her hands, staring at the sky above her. The lightning danced at her will, she rose from the ground as the air currents carried her up fifty feet from the ground. Logan had flashbacks of when Rogue last lost control and of when her powers first manifested. But unlike those times, she was controlling the power and not letting it control her.

She lifted a hand towards the lake and practised her aim with lightning making it strike the water at the points she willed it to. She focussed her energy and but both hands out straight in front of her to draw a funnel down from one of the super cells she had created. Logan watched as the funnel cloud touched down on the water creating a tornado of wind and water. Logan started to worry if it was too much for Rogue to handle when she suddenly thrust her hands out to either side of her, fingers out-stretched and erased the tornado that had formed in front of her, leaving the water it had picked up fall back into the lake with a sound as loud as thunder.

The thunderheads disappeared from sight and the night returned to its former calm, but Rogue remained high in the air, holding it together well and showing no signs of fatigue. About twenty feet in front of her, Logan saw a glimmer of light form. Rogue was creating a ball of lightning. The orb grew from nothing and shone looking beautiful and powerful, but deadly - an accurate representation of its creator. Rogue looked at it, sad that she had to disperse it but she had to move on now that she finally had control of Ororo's gifts. The orb dispersed into nothing and Rogue floated down to the ground, hair windswept and cheeks a little pink from the wind.

Rogue looked like she was getting ready to leave, putting back on her gloves and jacket, but then she paused. Having changed her mind she took off her jacket and gloves again and went back to the spot she chose to meditate on. Logan would have expected that taming Ororo's power would have been enough for one night but it seems she was determined to push herself. Logan had no idea why she was pushing herself so hard to try to tame so many powers in such a short length of time; he would need to confront her about it soon.

For a long time she stood there trying to take hold of this personality. Logan knew it wasn't a friend this time. None of the other personalities gave her this much trouble, her face contorted from fear and into anger. When she fell to her knees, she clutched her head as she connected and Logan felt the effects in his metal laced bones. The water in the lake bubbled fiercely as a dozen or so rusted I-beams erupted from under the water, and flew up around her circling her as she knelt on the cold stony ground. Rogue raised her head and stood up. When she opened her eyes again they glowed a bright yellow, very distinctive in the moon light. She raised her hands and having control of Magneto's power she made the beams stop circling her and made them stand stock still. She lowered her hands and sent the beams back into the water were they came from. This time she looked exhausted, and she collapsed to her knees again panting.

"Logan, Ah know you're there..." She said, barely above a whisper. Her accent was stronger when she was tired. At first, he wasn't sure if she was actually talking to him, or to the personality of Logan she had imprinted in her head. "Ah can sense the Adamantium." She added, sounding exhausted. Logan walked over to where she was hunched over in a heap on the ground.

"Come on, I'll take you home." Logan reached down and grabbed her by her covered shoulders and easily pulled her up to a standing position. She put back on the gloves she had tucked into her back pockets. Logan picked up her jacket and handed it to her. She took it and tried to walk put stumbled. Logan caught her easily and growled disapprovingly.

"Don't you think you're pushin' yourself too hard, Stripes." He supported her with one hand on her waist as he guided her to his bike.

"The sooner ah learn how to control these powers, the safer everyone else will be." Rogue stated her simple logic.

"You shouldn't be going off on your own to try out these powers, what if something went wrong?"

"Then Ah'd fix it!" Rogue was getting indignant. "B'sides, the rest weren't as bad as this, it was just ol' bucket head givin' me a hard time." Logan sat her on his bike and went back for her helmet from her bike. "What about my bike?" She asked tiredly.

"We'll come back for it tomorrow during the day." She put on the helmet handed to her obediently in her drowsy state. Logan climbed onto the bike in front of her. He felt her small arms around his waist, hanging on for the journey home.

"Good, Ah need to practise during the day tomorrow." She responded, fighting sleep, as she rested her head on Logan's back. "Ah'm gonna need your help with the one Ah'm going to try tomorrow night. It'll be the hardest and Ah don't think Ah can do it alone." She sounded much like the child she was then, frightened and needing a friend.

He sighed as he starting the bike, and turned his head to look back to her checking that she wouldn't fall off. Facing forward again he asked her, "Why are you rushing yourself with these powers, testing their limits, why not take them slower and pace yourself and ask the others for help with them?"

"'Cause Ah don't know how much time Ah've got left." Rogue answered, probably not aware of what she had said and how much her answer confused and frightened Logan. He drove them back to the Institute silently. Tomorrow, he'd get a straight answer from her and find out what she's been hiding from him.

**End of ****Chapter 7**


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N. Hmmm, and so the plot thickens... I hope! Thank you for reading! Please review - RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter ****8**

The flight was in early, leaving Honolulu the evening before and only arriving in terminal 4 in JFK by dinnertime the next day, after catching a connecting flight in Phoenix. The sun kissed young man, styled as the surfer he is, was waiting by baggage claim, jet-lagged and weak for having been on the plane for so long, hidden from the sun for nearly twenty-four hours. Alex nearly missed his bag and surf board when they came by on the conveyor. The bag, one could forgive, but missing his surf board would be pretty inexcusable. With this he realised how tired he was. Gathering his gear on a trolley, he headed for the arrival gates. Being early, he knew Scott wouldn't be there just yet so he headed straight for the front doors towards the collection point. As soon as the sun rays hit his skin he instantly relaxed ad massaged his hands, careful not to let them glow given the current anti-mutant prejudice going around.

The X-van pulled up by the curb where he was waiting with his trolley, and Scott emerges from the driver's seat and him and Alex meet around the front of the car in a great big bear hug. Jean hopped out of the front seat and greeted Alex in a more civilised but welcoming hug, before both helped him with his bags. Jean hopped into the back seat, leaving Scott and his brother in the front of the van.

"So, you must be seriously jet lagged?" Scott asked his brother, as he pulled out from the curb.

"Totally dude, but was suffering some serious sun withdrawal when I landed." With that, Scott pressed a button on the dashboard of the vehicle and the hardtop roof of the van folded in on itself and tucked away nearly in to the back. "Thanks dude, that's so much better!" Alex said to his brother stretching his arms up over his head.

"Hey, no problem, I know what you're going through." Scott sympathised with his brother. If he doesn't get enough sun, it tends to have a sickening effect on him too.

"Don't worry; between Scott and Roberto, you'll fit right in." Jean offered, trying to help Alex feel more at ease. "We'll be at the mansion in no time. Your room is all ready, so you can focus on recovering from the jet lag before Scott has you running drills with him and Logan."

"Hey, hey, hey, it took me months to convince him to come here, and now he's only been here two minutes and you're gonna have him running for the hills!" Scott mock scolded Jean.

"Oh come on, anything you can do, bro, I can too! How tough can it be?!" Scott and Jean smirked knowingly, as Alex lounged back in his seat soaking up the rays.

oOo

The big, blue and furry Hank McCoy was wandering around the basements of the Xavier institute still angry at himself for not having spotted any trends in the news and police reports that could help them. He wanted to be able to prevent these attacks from occurring, not just arrive after to provide aid. He was looking for Forge and found him working on the danger-room on his own and making excellent progress. Hank approached the other mutant, not intending to be quiet - but lots of fur tended to muffle one's steps. Before he alerted Forge to his presence, he noticed how tired Forge looked. This young man had the weight of the world on his shoulders and Hank didn't understand why.

"Hey, Forge!" Forge nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing Beast announce himself. "Sorry, I tend to have that effect on people." Beast apologised to the young man.

"No, I'm sorry Hank, I've just been a little on edge lately." Forge replied recovering from the shock, turning his attention back to the soldering he was at, although still listening to the Beast.

"So, I've noticed... Are you okay?" The Beast asked his young friend, concerned at how stressed he looked.

"What, me? Yeah, I'm excellent." Forge lied, and kept soldering. Beast gave him a sceptical look and Forge stopped soldering. "Okay, maybe not..."

"You wanna talk about it." Beast asked giving Forge his full attention now that he had given him his.

After a long silence of Forge trying to figure out the best way to broach this topic began with: "When were you born, Hank? Mid to late seventies?"

"Yeah. When were you born?" Hank replied, already seeing where this conversation was heading. To be honest, it had surprised Hank at how little he had mentioned this before.

"Early seventies..." Forge answered, letting it sink in to Hank that the teenager before him was actually older than him by a fair few years.

"I'm beginning to understand your problem." Hank stated honestly.

"Don't get me wrong, I love it here - way better technology and television. But I didn't time travel here - I lost twenty years of my life, spending it on my own in another dimension. I feel older than all the kids here, I look their age, but I'm older than you. I just don't fit in here..."

"If it's any consolation, there are a lot of mutant out there, including myself who know what it's like to not fit in." Beast paused before adding, "You must have been feeling this for a while, Forge."

"I guess it didn't hit me until I met with my family again. They looked at me like I was a ghost. I told them what had happened and they were understanding, but they weren't the same people I remembered. My mother had passed away in nineteen eighty-nine. I had twenty years to prepare for something like that, but it still hit me like a ton of bricks." Beast placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort as he continued talking. "My younger brother is all grown-up! He's married with three kids up state!" Forge's smile was one of disbelief.

"I'm sorry for what you've lost, Forge. I wish you had said something about this before. If we had known, it might have made the transition easier on you." Forge smiled at his friend.

"I know, but when I have a problem I prefer to fix things myself." Forge's reply truly showed his independence, and a little of his arrogance. Beast sighed.

"Problems like these are not easily fixed. What did you do?" He asked Forge.

"Well I through myself into projects: Kurt's teleporting gizmo, the new and improved Danger Room and Cerebro after the last ones were damaged, and that was just for here." Forge paused, "I moved out. I went to Boston and took a few courses in MIT to further my knowledge."

"You've been busy. How did you pay for all of that?" Hank enquired.

"I earned a lot of cash working with a local kid working on new game graphics and helping him set up his own software company. The money allowed me to fund some of my own little projects." Beast rubbed his own chin pondering for a moment.

"Why do I get the feeling I should be worried about that?" Forge looked guilty under Hank's stare.

"Well, my house was broken into last week." Forge confessed, but was quick to plead his case, "I have no idea how, the security system is an off spring of the Danger Room."

"What was taken?" Beast was beginning to see the danger in this.

"Everything..." Forge stated simply but the statement held so much. Beast exhaled taking in the implications of this.

"You should tell Charles about this, he'll need to know. That technology can be dangerous in the wrong hands." Beast advised Forge, knowing that the 'young' mutant was already feeling guilty for not having told anyone sooner.

"I know - that's why I'm so on edge..." Forge replied, full of dread and disappointment in himself.

Someone, who was just finished repairing the intercom system in the control room, had over-heard their entire conversation. He felt sorry for his friend, but thought it best not to tell him that he knew of his troubles. He retreated from the room and went in search of another friend that he needed to talk to.

oOo

"_Why are you rushing yourself with these powers, testing their limits, why not take them slower and pace yourself and ask the others for help with them?"_

"'_Cause Ah don't know how much time Ah've got left." Rogue answered, probably not aware of what she had said and how much her answer confused and frightened Logan. He drove them back to the Institute silently. Tomorrow, he'd get a straight answer from her and find out what she's been hiding from him._

Rogue had recovered from her exhaustion after only a few hours sleep. She was awake just before dawn and decided to head out to the Gazebo. She knew she wouldn't be disturbed there for a few hours, and that it would be the last place anyone would think to find her. It wasn't a place of happy memories.

She sat there for hours after the sun came up, writing furiously in her journal. Her muscles started to ache from the little movement of just writing. She stood up and stretched hearing her joints crack unforgiving. She closed her eyes and brought forth Logan's powers and felt the healing effects sooth her muscles. She sniffed the air and caught the scent of someone's approach.

Snikt! Snikt!

On Logan's instinct, she turned to face the intruder and popped her claws striking out just next to his face.

"Rogue!" A bewildered looking fuzzy blue elf jumped back from her afraid for his life.

Unsnikt! Unsnikt!

"Oh my God, Kurt! I'm so sorry!" Rogue rushed to apologise to her (sort-of) brother, retracting her claws, as he was still recovering from the shock of Rogue nearly skewering him alive.

"Rogue, how did you do that?" Kurt eyed her hands at where the bone claws were a moment before. He knew he didn't imagine them. "Well, I was looking for you to catch up on what I missed during the summer, it seems I missed more than I realised."

"I'm sorry, Kurt, I didn't mean for that to happen." Rogue was angry at herself for having been so diligent all week to have let a slip up like that happen, not to mention feeling ashamed at making her brother be frightened of her. Kurt looked disappointed.

"Does that mean you weren't going to tell me?" Rogue looked anywhere but at Kurt's eyes. Kurt nodded. "Secrets, Rogue? Blocking people out? Can't you see where this is going?" Kurt pleaded with Rogue to understand his concerns.

"I'm not like her!" Rogue shouted, instantly feeling remorse. Was it his fault for pointing out one of her worst fears? "And I was going to tell you, I just didn't know when would be the best time." She said pathetically, like it was somewhat close to the truth. Kurt jumped up to his usual position, balancing on the banister of the gazebo.

"Today is a good day for confessions; I'm all (pointy) ears!" Kurt pointed at his elf-like ears.

"Well, I've been workin' on my powers a lot lately. You just caught me when I was focusing on Logan's abilities." Rogue popped the claws again on one fist as evidence with a 'Snikt!'. "The claws seem to be a permanent feature these days." Rogue said as he looked at the claws extended from her gloved hands.

"Und, that's it?" Kurt asked her with a quizzical brow having picked up that there was more to it than that. Rogue retracted the claws once again and picked up the journal she had been writing in and hugged it to her chest.

"No." She paused, trying to decide the best way to describe it. "Remember when I lost it a few months ago?" Kurt nodded in response now hypnotised by the seriousness of the conversation. "Well, it's kinda like that. If I concentrate hard enough on someone I've absorbed - I can access their powers too."

"Mein Gott! Can you use my powers?" Rogue took his gloved hand in hers and teleported them to the lake.

Bamf!

"What? How did we get here?! Rogue, this is way further than two miles!" Kurt pivoted wildly on the spot and looked around, confused and excited by his sister's abilities, or rather his.

"I know. I've been practising and it looks like I can use these powers at a whole new level, I can't explain it..." Rogue hoped Kurt would fall for the little white lie she tacked on at the end.

"So one day, I could teleport this far?" Kurt's voice was full of hope and wonder like a child in a toy store. Rogue smiled at his innocence.

"I'm really not sure, Kurt, but maybe." She replied honestly, not wanting to promise or dismiss the possibility. Kurt came back to the real issues at hand. He turned to Rogue and place a hand on her shoulder.

"All of this and you've told no one?" Kurt asked, not accusing her of not trusting him, but concerned at why she felt like doing things alone.

"Logan knows some of it." Rogue shrugged shyly, clearly not wanting to say more on this matter. Kurt studied her for a moment and decided to change the topic of conversation.

"So... why did you bring me here?" Kurt gestured to their current surroundings.

"This is just the first place I thought of. It's where I've been practisin' at night." Rogue shrugged.

"That explains why you've been looking so tired lately. Do you want to practise now?" Kurt offered, half wanting to help his sister now that she had confided in him, the other half wanting to see what she could do.

"Okay, I've been meaning to try Sunspot's power - so I guess now is as good a time as any..." Rogue replied, happy that this whole thing was going better than she had thought it would. She took her stance next to the water, arms down by her side as she tried to focus on Roberto's personality.

"Right... I'll just back up a little..." Kurt stepped back a few feet, then rethought about when she lost control the last time.

Bamf!

The sound distracted Rogue and she snapped her head around to where Kurt had been and saw him waving at her about a hundred feet back from her.

"Gee, thanks, blue boy! Way to fill me with confidence!" Rogue shouted down to him the way siblings do, only half serious.

"Hey, no problem! Happy to help!" Kurt waved back.

Sighing, Rogue refocused on the task at hand. Finding e overachiever's abilities didn't take as long as she thought they would. When she was ready she held her hands up to the sky to charge up with the sun's rays. She glowed and then burst into flames, supercharged with solar energy. Kurt moved a little closer, becoming more trusting of Rogue's control. Rogue ran and long jumped into deep into the water, only to jump out moments later carrying a rusted steel beam. She smiled at Kurt before throwing it like a javelin across the lake. She de-flamed when she reached the shore line again. Kurt teleported back over to Rogue, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Zat was totally excellent, mann! Can I help with the next one?" Rogue knew the perfect one for her to try with Kurt, one he may appreciate and could help her prove or disprove a theory she was working on.

"Okay, just sit down on the ground across from me." Rogue sat cross legged on the ground opposite from Kurt, who did the same.

"Now what?" Kurt asked impatiently.

"Shush! I need to concentrate." For a long time Kurt just sat there, trying to meditate like Rogue. But he didn't really know what she was doing so he ended up just closing his eyes and peeking across at Rogue to see if she had opened her eyes yet. Kurt felt very strange and uncomfortable. When she had opened her eyes again they were wide with shock. Kurt frowned.

"What? What is it?" Kurt stared at Rogue like it was a staring contest waiting for her to say something.

"Am... it worked." Rogue said simply, and then started to laugh. "It actually worked!"

"What worked?" Kurt responded, getting a little agitated that he had yet to be in on the joke.

"Look at yourself, Kurt!" Rogue shouted pointing out why he had felt so uncomfortable moments ago.

"Mein Gott! Erstaunlich! Ich bin ein normal!" Kurt spouted random German examining his hands and lack of tail and fur and pointy ears. His appearance was not all that far off from the one his image inducer portrayed, albeit slightly more tanned and jet black hair. "Rogue, this is unreal! How long can you make it last?" Rogue's smile fell.

"...Kurt..." She hated to break it to him but he already knew the answer.

"Ja, I know... It is just temporary... So, is that it then?" Rogue thought for a second.

"Well, can I try just one thing?" Rogue shyly asked for permission.

"After this, anything!" With this Rogue asked him to hold up a finger, as she took off one of her gloves. Kurt saw where this was going, and hoped it would work.

As soon as their fingers made contact, Rogue could feel the effects of her power taking over - drawing in Kurt's personality and energy. Unfortunately, during her experiment she also lost control of Leech's power and Kurt fell back transforming back to his usually appearance faster and more painfully than the initial transformation. Rogue clung to her head as soon as she broke contact with Kurt. He recovered fast from the drain and the transformation and sat up when he realised Rogue was taking it worse than him.

"Rogue... Rogue!" He grabbed her by the shoulders trying to get her to refocus. There were a few tears down her cheeks. She really thought that would work, and hadn't prepared herself mentally for the onslaught of Kurt's powers - especially while trying to maintain control over Leech's. She opened her eyes when she came back to him, disappointed and a little angry.

"Damn it!" Rogue slapped the ground with her hands. She got up and walked to the water's edge, facing away from Kurt wiping away the tears. "I really thought that would work." She whispered quietly.

"I know, I hoped it would work too." He walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Is there anything I can do for you?" She talked into his shoulder, hesitantly.

"You can help me with one more power, if that's okay?" She asked him sadly.

"Sure." Kurt said as they took the same positions as before. As Rogue connected with this power she looked at Kurt. When their eyes met he saw the tears free-flowing down her face and the look of regret.

"I'm sorry, Kurt." She sniffed, as everything around him went white.

**End of ****Chapter 8**

A.N. I'm enjoying these dramatic endings! R&R


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N. Woot! Over 1000 hits! Makes me so happy! Thank you for reading, I hope it's to your liking! Please R&R, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter ****9**

_A few hours earlier..._

It was a couple of hours before dawn when the motorbike pulled into the garage with its life cut the same time that the kick stand descended. Logan took off his helmet and exhaled before uncurling the small arms from his waist. Logan supported her as he dismounted his bike. Rogue was protesting to being disturbed but too drowsy to be eloquent about it. Upon gaining a vague sense of her whereabouts she was slightly embarrassed to realise that she was being carried somewhere but soon stopped caring. Logan brought her up to her room and put her in to her bed, tucking her in like a child. He brushed a stray lock of white hair away from her face as he waited and listened to her fall into a deep sleep before leaving.

Logan made his way outside to the crazy path obstacle course that was a particular favourite of his since the Danger Room was still out of commission. He ran the course continuously for hours, never reaching exhaustion with his healing factor. He was angry and annoyed by Rogue's secrecy and was tormented by her ominous statement in her unguarded state. He growled and sliced his way through flying disc blades and spikes, smoke screens and tracker units, weighted bags swung randomly to throw him off balance and open sudden drops and electrified grids. He worked furiously through these challenges to help him think clearly. When he saw a few of the kids wandering around the grounds he turned off the course - no longer safe to work at the level he was at in case of collateral damage. Logan headed back inside to shower and change before finding Rogue to retrieve her motorbike and have a discussion.

He tracked her scent, and headed for the cliffs edge. He saw her at the Gazebo, writing in that damn diary again - he wondered if she even told her journal the truth or did she leave it guessing too? He was on his approach when he saw Kurt walking up to her and nearly getting skewered in the process, to which even Logan flinched. He held back and decided that even though reading someone's diary was beneath him, eavesdropping with his extra sensitive hearing could be considered an honest mistake.

He watched as Rogue quickly panicked and apologised to the elf. Logan remembered then her previously confessed fear of having her friends being afraid of her, but Kurt was taking it well once over the initial shock. He was now becoming more intrigued and fascinated by Rogue's extended claws asking questions and listening to every word. He had to admit that Kurt's mention of Mystique was not a good move, though he could understand why Kurt was cautiously mentioning their mother - reminding her where lies and secrecy can lead to and who she could end up hurting.

The explanation that she gave to Kurt over the claws pretty much spilled the beans. She started talking about focusing on Logan's powers and focussing on any other person she has absorbed. Before he knew it Rogue had teleported the two of them elsewhere. Logan didn't need to guess where - if there were going to be any demonstrations, the safest place to do them would be at the lake. Logan ran to his bike and made the engine roar to life, then raced out to the lake to follow these proceedings.

On his way out there, he couldn't help but go over what had just happened. All this care and secrecy she had been taking to hide her abilities from everyone (even Logan) and finally in one go she managed to accidentally let the cat out of the bag, and willingly offered more information than just the claws. Logan decided that this was definitely a good thing. What's more - she would be showing Kurt how far she could teleport. No doubt the elf would have more questions about that, the answers being something Logan was interested to hear.

oOo

Three people walked through a bio-medical laboratory, walking with an objective past the banks of employees working hard at their stations. One of these people was a middle-aged woman with short red hair with steaks of grey throughout, who was garbed in fitted white trousers and shirt under a monogrammed lab coat suggesting her seniority. Along with black clean room shoes, she wore prescription lab goggles that clearly stated she was a resident here. The other two walking with her clearly did not work there. One was a man in his early thirties in a Gucci suit that was not flattered by the white shoe covers and spare lab coat that smelled of various chemicals. The other was reaching his sixties dressed in Armani that was also insulted by the garbing he was forced to wear. Both men were asked to wear ordinary lab glasses before entering a specific room at the end of the lab.

"We've been able to isolate the muta-toxin from the formula you supplied." The senior analyst told both of the gentlemen after she closed the door behind her. "However, that was just based on blood samples. We have not been able to determine the details of its toxicity, especially considering this is not exactly something that could be tested on animals." The women informed her benefactors, a slight Portuguese accent colouring her speech.

"Depends on how you look at it." The young man shrugged tactlessly.

"What do you need?" The elder of the group asked his employee.

"Live test groups, both human and mutant, to estimate the LD50 for this chemical agent, or, in your case, the 'effective' dosage and method of delivery." She directed to the elder gentleman, who looked at the younger man.

"Done." The man in the Gucci suit replied, his efficacy amazed the analyst considering his age.

"Just like that? I'm impressed." She told him truthfully.

"You'd be amazed at the resources available to us." She smiled back to him as she walked over to a chamber in the centre of the back wall of the room and opened the heavy sealed door to reveal a tray of beakers containing white freeze-dried powder cakes, samples of the muta-toxin she had referred to earlier. "How many people are in on this little project?" The younger of the two men asked eyeing the beakers with an air of caution.

"Just us three, Mr. Spears. The people working out there are just working with coded, labelled samples. They submit their data and findings to me and I interpret them for you. It is not their business to go beyond their assigned frame of reference. They think it is normal R&D work for FDA approval." She assured him of the confidentiality of the work. "Now, if you will follow me, we shall move on to the designs of the pilot scale plant."

"There's a change of plan with that. We're not going to use a pilot scale plant. You see, I already have a fully operational plant that's in disuse from a failed product launch. We're going to adapt that for this 'product' instead." The elder man informed her of the change.

"How much of it are you trying to produce, Mr. Worthington?" She asked. Mr. Worthington smiled.

"Just enough to supply demand." He stated simply.

oOo

By the time Logan had reached the lake, Rogue was powering down from Sunspot's abilities. Logan guessed that's what she meant last night in her mumblings about needing a day session to practise. As she conversed with Kurt about it she looked happy, no longer hiding. Now she was able to share this with someone close to her and not having him being afraid of her. Well, someone else close to her. He thought Rogue could take this as an indicator as to how the other's would react to her abilities - acceptance.

Distracted by this thought, he had missed what they said as they sat on the ground in their meditating positions. Logan was as shocked as the other two to see Kurt's fur recede and his tail disappear and watch as the elf morphed into a normal looking person. Although Logan remained as stoic as ever not quite hiding nearby, all three of them were enjoying the spectacle of Kurt dancing and examining his skin and lack of tail. It wouldn't take much to bring them back to reality however, and it didn't. The mere question of Kurt asking how long the effects would last sobered them up immediately.

Having accepted the fact that this was only temporary, Kurt graciously changed the subject. Offering himself up for the little experiment Rogue had planned. Like Kurt, Logan could see what Rogue was thinking as she took off one of her gloves and held up her finger to meet Kurt's. When it didn't work as they had expected, he exhaled a breath he wasn't aware that he was holding. Logan fought the urge to run forward when the effects of Rogue's own power took charge.

Logan tried to understand the effect this had on Rogue. She was in full control of Leech's abilities at one moment and then made contact with Kurt. Rogue had enough sense to pull back from him but the damage was done. The onslaught of another personality flowed into her head supplying information and memories, most of which were familiar, but many others which were new. Logan could see that Rogue wasn't prepared for that meaning that she really thought it would work.

With the contact, Rogue instantly lost control of Leech's ability causing Kurt to transform back quickly and painfully to his normal self while he also was trying not to pass out from the energy drain. Rogue clutched her head. Logan assumed she would have focussed on Kurt's powers to seek some stability in the chaos of her mind, but for the faintest moment when she brought her hands to her head Logan could swear he saw her set of bone claws protruding up to an inch before she retracted them quickly, but the wounds stayed open, even as Kurt was shaking her to get her to refocus. The wounds closed up just as she opened her eyes, tears down her face.

She got angry and hit the ground, quickly standing up she faced away from Kurt but Logan could see. She wiped away tears from her cheeks and blood from her knuckles. Kurt comforted her, knowing the same disappointment of not being able to find a way around your mutation, but you can't deny who you are. To everyone's amazement, she wanted to try another power with Kurt's help. This girl was nothing if not determined.

They sat down again to try out whatever new power Rogue had in mind. As soon as Kurt closed his eyes, Rogue's flew open. She had connected with the power sooner than she thought she would her eyes her only tell to Logan which were glowing with this familiar psychic power. She was clearly conflicted about something, debating the ethics of it brought tears to her eyes. There was no more time left to think. Kurt's eyes opened and she apologised to him for what she was about to do, although he would never remember it.

Logan's eyes widen at her apology and saw her project something from her mind into Kurt's. She closed her eyes and used, what Logan recognised as Xavier's abilities, on her brother - to do what, he did not know.

Mere moments later, they both stood up. Kurt was in a trance. Rogue placed her hand on his shoulder, silently telling him what to do, before releasing him

Bamf!

Kurt teleported from there. She felt so numb she couldn't tell if she was crying or not anymore.

Her eyes were closed but she could hear him walking over to her, heavy boots on gravel.

"That kid would have done anything for you if you had asked." Logan chastised her, voice cold as ice.

"Logan, I..." She refused to open her eyes to him or to face him, but what cut off from her muttered reply.

"Save it, Stripes." Logan said sharply. Rogue bit her bottom lip, still refusing to open her eyes to him. Logan sighed. "Way I see it; you kinda liked having him in the know back there. And I know that you trust him enough that he wouldn't say anything to anyone if you asked him not to." He paused for long enough to let her jump in at any stage. He was treating this like an affidavit, if she stood there listening to his statements without contesting them then he would accept it as admittance.

"He's your brother, or the closest thing to it." Again, like a punch to the stomach. She felt fresh tears fall down her cheeks. Then, out of nowhere, she felt a gloved hand wipe away those tears. She was so shocked by the act that she opened her eyes to look into his.

"So the only thing I can gather from that is that you don't want someone to use him to find out what you're up to." He was still annoyed about being in the dark but Rogue expected him to be in a blind fury by now from her unjustified antics. He voice was stern but not cold. "You need to tell me what's going on, now." Rogue nodded.

Rogue stepped away from Logan taking a moment to collect her thoughts. Releasing a shaky breath but feeling stronger than before, she was ready to talk to him.

"Where do you want me to start, Logan?" Rubbing her arms and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"What did you do to Kurt?" he asked simply with a raised eyebrow, knowing her explanation would probably be anything but. His arms were folded, his face stern. She wasn't going to lie to him. She kept her voice sturdy despite the dam of emotion that was about to break behind it.

"Ah told him to go back to the mansion, teleportin' as many times as he needs to get back." She blinked back the tears that were developing. "Ah told him to remember being at the Gazebo and the near miss with the claws, but Ah made him forget my other abilities and this lake." The grief for those moments lost washed over her, but she held her stance and was resolved. Logan thought about what she had said to him and asked her his next question calmly.

"Who is it that you don't trust at the mansion, Rogue?" Thinking to himself that the answer must be a telepath, there being no other reason to erase someone's memory when you knew you trusted them, so that narrowed it down to two. "Chuck?" He asked, given the way she made a point of asking Logan not to tell him before they returned to the Institute.

"I love the Professor, Logan. Of course I trust him." She struggled with the next part. "I just can't trust his judgement right now." The hypocrisy was all Logan could see in her statement.

"I'm findin' it damn hard to trust your judgement right now, kid." That hurt, but Rogue wasn't going to break down over it. This was the anger that she expected of him moments ago, the anger she felt he had every right to.

"He can't know what I can do." She responded staring into the space in front of them.

"Are you gonna wipe my memory too?" Logan added, thinking it to be a natural progression in her behaviour. Rogue's eyes snapped up to his.

"What? No!" She answered him, shocked that he would even ask that.

"Come on, what's stopping you? Chuck struggles to see what's going on in my head but don't tell me you couldn't do it!" Logan stopped when he realised he had answered his own question. Telepath's have a hard enough time in his head; they're not likely to go snooping. Rogue saw him realise this but had to add to it to defend herself.

"I wouldn't do that to you anyway..." She sounded like she was going to add something more to that but decided against it. Instead she sighed and pleaded with him. "I need your help, Logan. I can't do it alone."

"You're doing a damn good job of making sure you are alone." His voice was lower and feigning control but the ice was starting to crack. He stared her down for a moment. When it looked like she wasn't going to talk he turned away from her to leave. She was able to stop him with a whisper.

"Please, Logan, there are things that are going to happen that you don't know about." She told him quietly - sounding just like she did the other night. When he realised what she was talking about it sent a chill down his spine. He turned his head slightly back in her direction.

"You saw the same stuff Chuck saw from Apocalypse?" Rogue nodded mutely, but realised he was still faced away from her so she clarified it out loud.

"Yeah..." She muttered, staring at his back.

"That still doesn't explain why you don't trust Chuck, kid." Logan said to her still not moving - not wanting to break whatever spell that was getting her to talk to him at last.

"The Professor's completely obsessed on one of the things he saw. He's trying to change it, Logan, but he's doin' more harm than good and what's worse, he won't be prepared for things to come." Rogue explained to him.

"What's got Chuck so worked up?" He asked standing still again, not wanting her to freeze up and block him out. Rogue hesitated, still not wanting to say something that could put him in danger.

"Jean... It's to do with Jean..." She said finally. "That's all I can tell you on that one right now." She looked down at the ground. Logan turned to face her. Given the seriousness of her tone, he'd give her that one, for now.

"So what _can_ you tell me?" Logan asked.

**End of ****Chapter 9**


	10. Chapter 10

**A.N. Thanks for the hits and reviews, really nice of ye! There's a challenge at the end of this chapter for a bit of fun! Please read and review! Thank you, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 10**

The halls and corridors felt endless to one not-as-young-as you'd-think mutant. The big and blue furry man behind him marched at the same pace, ensuring he did not change his mind about where he was going. Beast was escorting Forge to Xavier's office. It wasn't like Forge didn't know the way, but the Beast felt like he was guarding a prisoner - escorting him to the warden. The information that Forge had withheld could have many implications, so it was important in Hank's opinion that this was told to the Professor as soon as possible. When they arrived at the doors, they knocked and waited patiently for the Professor's reply.

"I think the Professor may still be in session with Jean." Hank said when there was no response after the knock. Forge looked up very happy at that.

"_That's quite alright, Hank, we're done here_." The Professor said telepathically to them both. Forge's face returned instantly to its morose state. Hank pushed open the doors to the office to find Jean sitting on a chair opposite Charles. Charles was wearing the portable Cerebro head gear, taking it off as Hank stepped in. Hank thought it was strange that Charles was the one wearing the Cerebro unit, which would enhance his abilities and not Jean. After all, Charles was already the stronger telepath.

"I know, I thought it was strange too." Jean agreed with Hank. Hank looked over at her. She had the sense to blush when she realised she had read his mind without his consent. "Sorry, but you were projecting." She explained quickly. "The Professor and I were trying more difficult challenges today."

"And as usual, Jean excelled in them all." Charles complimented his student as he placed the Cerebro head gear on his desk. "I'd like you to practise your telekinetic abilities next with Storm, Jean."

"Sure, Professor! Scott's working with Alex for most of today anyway." Jean responded enthusiastically.

"Good, Storm will meet you by the cliffs." The professor directed before turning back to Forge and Hank as Jean left the room. "Now, I believe we may have a problem." Charles directed to Hank and Forge.

Hank paced the office floor, as he listened to Forge's retelling of discovering the break-in to his house, and the following series of apologies. The Professor went over the information for a moment before responding.

"If it was as well guarded as you say it was, Forge, I believe that it is fair to assume that it was a mutant that carried out the crime." The Professor concluded.

"There are only a few mutants outside of this institute that could manage beating such a defence system, and less again that would have known who Forge was." Beast offered. "Do you have any hints as to what kind of powers were used to defeat your system?" Hank suggested.

"No, nothing was left recognisable - just lots of hunks of junk were all that were left. Whoever did it wasn't subtle about it." Forge sounded a little irked still that someone felt the need to not just disable his defence system, but to totally trash it.

"Do you know exactly what was taken?" The Professor asked.

"Yeah, I can draw you up a detailed list but basically, all my schematics and a few things I was working on, small pieces of electronic devices that weren't even working yet. I doubt anyone could finish them without me." Forge stated with a hint of arrogance.

"Hmm, that may be something to be concerned about." Charles brought his fingertips together as he was thinking. Hank turned to Forge, who looked a little perplexed to what part he was referring to. Hank explained what Charles meant.

"Whoever wanted your technology may try to get you to finish what you were working on, by force if necessary." Hank informed Forge. Forge looked downright shocked at the idea.

"Wait, no one knew what I was working on - they couldn't have possibly broke in for those. I figured they just took those because they were shiny or something!" Again, his own conclusion was laced with arrogance. Forge tended to forget that just because someone wasn't necessarily as intelligent as him, it didn't mean that their heads were completely full of feathers.

"Still, I'd prefer if you moved into the Institute for the time-being. You'd be safer here." The Professor offered Forge encouragingly. Forge thought it through, rubbing his chin.

"I suppose, if they were smart enough, they may have figured out the potential in some of my machines if they were finished... Okay Prof, it'll save the commute anyway. It's gonna take another while before I have the Danger Room up and running again." Forge agreed to the deal and reached out to shake his hand.

oOo

The clay pigeons flew up majestically, almost suspended in the air when caught by a contradicting wind in the high altitude. The small orange objects contrasted wonderfully against the brilliant blue sky like small neon Frisbees before being blasted into smithereens by jets of bright red lights. One after another the discs were shot up, and out of all five only the last one was escaped intact as the beam shot by, missing it by inches, which caused distress to a young mutant with wavy blond hair.

"Aw Dude! I totally let that one get away from me!" He said to his brother, staring after the one that got away, as he ran hands through his hair, interlocking his fingers at the back of his head. He turned to face his brother, shrugging slightly. "Sorry bro!" Scott slapped him on his back.

"What are you talking about, Alex?!" Scott replied in disbelief. "You got four out of five discs!"

"You'd get all five..." Alex mumbled shyly.

"I've had years of practise! And to be honest, mostly I just have to look at them to hit them, pointing has gotta be harder." Scott reassured his brother as he set up the next round of clay pigeons. "C'mon, let's try it again." Alex warmed up his hands for firing when a loud noise from behind startled him.

Bamf!

Alex whipped his head around and held up his hands to the invader.

"Whoa, déjà vu!" A wide-eyed Kurt Wager exclaimed to the threatening red glow held up in front of his face. Alex lowered his guard once he recognised the Fuzzy Dude.

"Sorry, Dude, I guess you kinda scared me." Alex shrugged cooling the blasters. Nightcrawler did a double take.

"_I_ scared _you_?! I nearly 'Bamf'ed myself!" Nightcrawler responded aghast, catching his breath.

"What was with the déjà vu?" Scott interrupted. Nightcrawler looked at Scott confused, but them the question clicked.

"Oh, well, that's the second time I've got that reaction today." Kurt answered to which Alex frowned.

"Doesn't that tell you something, like, maybe you shouldn't sneak up on people." Alex commented to Kurt, however, the comment fell on deaf ears as Scott and Kurt had now taken over the conversation.

"I surprised Jean once. She threw me off a balcony with her powers. Who did you narrowly escape last time?" Scott enquired.

"Meine schwester, Rogue." Kurt replied, earning a curious look from Alex.

"Rogue's your sister?" Alex asked Kurt. Kurt responded automatically.

"Ja, Adopted sister..." Kurt looked at Alex again with a furrowed brow, head cocked to the side in question. "Sprechen sie Deutsche?"

"A few words..." Alex confessed with a shrug. Scott rerouted the conversation from its current tangent.

"Surprising Rogue probably wasn't as bad as surprising Alex. Though it could've been worse, imagine if it was Logan." Scott offered with an air of amusement as Kurt looked like he just remembered something.

"Actually, Logan's no longer the only one around here that can make elf chop suey." Kurt could have made Kitty proud with his gossip voice.

"What do you mean?" Scott pressed for more information.

"Rogue has bone claws like Logan's now. She nearly stabbed me with them when I surprised her." Scott's eyebrows could not go any higher with this information, before he started blubbering questions for Kurt.

"What?! Rogue has Logan's powers? How? Since when? How come I didn't know about this? Are you sure?" Scott bombarded Kurt, who started waving his hands and shaking his head in a 'No' gesture.

"Way too fast, Mann! My English is good, but not that good." Kurt slowed him down.

"Well, where is she now? I should talk to her." Scott asked, his leader mode setting in. Kurt looked like he struggled to remember, but finally responded.

"Am, she was at the Gazebo but I think she went off training, I don't know where." Kurt admitted. "Anyway, I'm heading out to meet Amanda if anyone's looking for me." Kurt concluded, receiving a nod from Cyclops.

Bamf!

Kurt disappeared into purple smoke. Scott turned to his little brother placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Mind if we call it a day? I think I should go ask the Professor about this." Alex nodded.

"Sure, no problem dude. I think I'll go and catch a few waves." Scott smiled and headed off towards the mansion.

oOo

"_What's got Chuck so worked up?" He asked standing still again, not wanting her to freeze up and block him out. Rogue hesitated, still not wanting to say something that could put him in danger._

"_Jean... It's to do with Jean..." She said finally. "That's all I can tell you on that one right now." She looked down at the ground. Logan turned to face her. Given the seriousness of her tone, he'd give her that one, for now. _

"_So what _can_ you tell me?" Logan asked. _

The slender young women leaned against her bike, grasping the journal she held close to her chest in her gloved hands like a life line. White and brown locks fell over her eyes, as she watched her friend pace back and forth before his own motorcycle, digesting all she had just told him.

"You're sure he's coming back?" Logan paused from his pacing to look her in the eyes once more, almost like a human lie detector, but Rogue knew he just needed to be certain.

"I'm pretty sure, Logan." She told him sadly, before justifying her suspicions. "I got a good look at his past and there's no way we defeated him that easily." Logan growled at the last part.

"I wouldn't call any of what we went through easy, kid." Rogue was giving him a break; after all it was a lot of information to get your head around in such a short space of time, but now she was getting annoyed at his tone.

"You know what I mean, Logan." She said to him, regaining her usual feistiness. "It was too inconclusive. Everyone just decided to forget about him the second it was over, not givin' him a second thought. Part of me thinks he's just out there bidin' his time."

"What do we need to do?" His use of the word 'we' did not go unnoticed by Rogue. She exhaled.

"We need to learn as much as possible about him, and how to stop him." She said with finality.

oOo

She closed her eyes and relaxed her muscles. She stretched out with her mind and could feel the air around her, little currents flitting and floating around her between her fingers and flicking up her long white locks, inviting her to come and play like a puppy greeting its master. She could feel the sun warming her skin, it too was greeting her but this was not a restless spirit like the currents but an old friend giving a nod of respect. She reached further with her powers to feel the environment in the entire vicinity and felt almost complete. Even with perfect concentration, this was the closest to complete she could feel. Using her powers always felt wonderful but for the last few months it has never felt as good as it used to. She had had a taste of something more.

When she was a horseman, and stretched out with her mind like this she could feel the entire world. She felt a hurricane beginning over the Atlantic Ocean. She could feel lightning strike after lightning strike hitting all around the world; sheet lightning in Orlando, a few scattered forked bolts over the West rim of the Grand Canyon, severe downpours over Wexford moving swiftly towards Swansea. Violent winds started to whip up in the Indian Ocean by Perth. She could feel everything, from the continuous ice storms over the Arctic shelf to the smallest breeze past the fingertips of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. She felt complete for the first time, and has felt nothing like it since. The consequences of all this power didn't matter; she was given the freedom that comes with having no guilt from Apocalypse. It terrified her to no end now at how comfortable she was playing the role of a sociopathic puppet. She was a recovering addict from that power and only now was she beginning to realise that.

She stood tall at the top of the cliffs as her pupil arrived. Jean walked up to Storm as she opened her eyes and greeted her with a friendly smile which she reciprocated.

"Shall we get started then?" Storm asked Jean who nodded in response. "Follow me." Storm leapt from the cliff and was carried off higher into the air and further over the water by the series of miniature jet streams and currents she had command over. Jean followed easily using her telekinesis to levitate her into the air. When they were a good distance away from the cliffs Storm began the lesson.

"Since your impressive display in the Danger Room, I thought we should start testing you in more complex ways. But first, we will start off easily enough. Defence against forces you cannot see." Just as Storm had finished her speech Jean felt herself being pushed in many different directions by an unseen force, the wind. Nearly as soon as the attack had started, Jean was able to throw up a shield to protect herself from the gale force winds and managed to stay stable enough though had veered very close to the cliffs edge.

"Good. Next we will try your reaction speed." Just then a spark discharged from a nearby cloud to Jean. It wasn't a full bolt of lightning but it had the speed of one. As Jean's mind reacted to seeing the lightning it threw up a shield with the same speed of her thoughts and the spark bounced off.

"Very impressive." Storm concluded looking at Jean and around her at her shield.

"I didn't know I could react that fast! I guess it was just instinct?" Jean asked, still shocked at her little display.

"For many mutants, myself included, it is often when our lives are threatened and adrenaline is released that we truly connect with our powers. Instinct is powerful, but we must maintain ourselves too. With powers like ours, Jean, it is too easy to hurt those we care for." Jean looked confused, but Storm pointed behind Jean to the cliff edge where a large section was missing. The missing section looked like it belonged to part of a sphere. Jean's shield had crushed the cliff face behind her and she never even noticed.

"We will try these exercises again, put now we will try something different. It will require a lot of concentration and focus." Storm brought Jean to the cliff and they both sat down on the grass in meditating positions facing one another. "The thing we will test now is to see how far you telekinesis can go. I want you to create a small cloud of vapour between us using the water in the grass, in the soil or from the sea below or from the air, wherever you like. Focus your telekinesis on the level of the droplets until it forms."

The two mutants stayed that way for hours until the sun was about to set when the smallest cloud started to form between them.

oOo

A beautiful red wolf padded through the gardens of the mansion followed by four teenage mutants. Sunspot strolled along besides Ray and Amara and Kitty, his eyes never straying far from where Rahne had wandered. Sam was trying to keep a conversation going with Roberto but with concentration lacking he opted to Kitty and Amara's discussions which ranged from school (which was to start up again soon) or towards more interesting topics such as computers. He would remain blissfully happy with this conversation as long as it stayed clear of-

"He called me again last night, we talked for ages. I really think he's finally growing up, you know?" Kitty informed Amara of the latest breakthrough in her relationship with Lance Alvers. This was the topic Ray was afraid of; boys. He had to get out of it before they both realised that he was in fact a member of the boy population and insisted on asking him his opinion on what so-and-so meant in various text messages.

"Oh, I'm so jealous!" Amara responded. Ray was gracefully and stealthily moving away from the girls and towards Roberto - seeing him as the only sane one left. He and Roberto saw Rahne tense up suddenly in the distance.

"What is it?" Roberto whispered across the grass to Rahne, just barely catching himself in time before he added 'girl' to his question. One of many things that he has learned about the girl since he came to the Institute was that she hated any Lassie references. Rahne stilled then bounded for the front gates, her friends struggling to keep up. When they reached the gates they heard motorbikes in the distance, but never thought that that would be cause enough to alert Wolfsbane. It was then that Ray spotted him and created sparks in his hands. Following suit, Amara and Roberto powered up as Rahne growled at the intruder waiting just outside the gate.

"Guys, relax! It's okay - he's our friend now!" Kitty shouted at them as she ran to the gates and phased through to greet their visitor who had a large duffel bag held over one shoulder.

"Приветствие подруга" The large Russian greeted Kitty, as two motorbikes pulled up outside the gates. Logan growled and hopped off his bike, walking straight over to Piotr Rasputin but Rogue remained calm about the whole affair.

"What are you doing here, bub?" Logan asked Colossus but refrained from popping his claws.

"I've come to join the X-men." Piotr announced proudly in his thick Russian accent. There were a few moments of silence. Rogue and Logan kept passive faces, while most of the others' jaws nearly hit the ground in shock, except for Kitty of course who was smiling broadly. She was the first to break the silence when she grabbed Piotr's arm.

"Awesome! C'mon, I'll take you to the Professor!" Kitty phased them through the gate and started heading up the long driveway to the mansion with him, never letting go of his arm. Logan and Rogue waited until the electronic gates opened up to follow them, leaving the other four teenagers still in shock at the front gates.

Kitty and Piotr reached the door to the Professor's office just as Logan and Rogue had who were approaching from the garage. Logan sniffed the air.

Snikt!

"Logan, he's okay. He's a friend!" Kitty shouted frantically, stepping in front of Colossus as Logan stood still outside Xavier's door.

"It's not him that's bothering me..." Logan replied to Kitty, just as the door to Chucks' office opened a fraction. Logan reached his unclawed hand in through the open doorway and pulled out a tall young man in a trench coat and slammed him up against the wall opposite the Professor's office, his claws held under the young man's chin. Logan glared into the man's red on black eyes.

"Bonjour, Wolverine." Remy greeted Logan calmly, a smirk across his face as Xavier emerged from his office.

"Logan, put him down." Logan was disinclined to relinquish his hold on the Cajun but did so any way on Chuck's request.

Unsnikt!

"What the hell is he doing here, Chuck?" Logan growled to Charles, eyes never leaving the swamp rat.

"Mr. LeBeau has agreed to join our team." Logan's head snapped around to Chuck, who seemed perfectly serious. Kitty looked at Colossus questioningly who just frowned and shrugged in response. Whereas Gambit's wandering gaze had found Rogue, he smiled and winked at her. She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide a small smile that formed as she did so.

**End of Chapter 10**

_A.N. Sorry for the delay with this Chapter, I was up the country for a few days without my laptop. Please review, with bonus points to anyone who can write my pen name phonetically! J__ust thought it would be fun! A friend told me that before she saw the first Harry Potter movie she pronounced Hermione in her head from reading the books as 'Her-Me-Own'!_


	11. Chapter 11

**A.N. Thank you for reading! I didn't get a right answer to the challenge at the end of the last chapter, although there was one fair attempt where the first syllable and the last word were correct! So keep trying! I hope y'all are enjoying the story so please review at the end! Thank you! Ríoghnach's Reign**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 11**

"_What the hell is he doing here, Chuck?" Logan growled to Charles, eyes never leaving the swamp rat. _

"_Mr. LeBeau has agreed to join our team." Logan's head snapped around to Chuck, who seemed perfectly serious. Kitty looked at Colossus questioningly who just frowned and shrugged in response. Whereas Gambit's wandering gaze had found Rogue, he smiled and winked at her. She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide a small smile that formed as she did so._

The atmosphere was tense and uncomfortable, although the person who was the centre of attention was enjoying himself immensely. He was leaning back against the wall that he had a rough meeting with only moments beforehand. Logan was just staring at 'baldy' in shock; Gambit could see the veins in his forehead pulsating. It was like looking at a frozen computer screen trying to process too many things at once. For a moment, Remy thought Logan had had a stroke or that the hamster running the wheels and cogs in the Wolverine's brain finally given up and decided to have a KitKat.

The man had nearly flayed him alive the last time they saw one another and now he was going to have to play nice. It was all Remy could do to not laugh, but he wasn't going to pretend that he wasn't enjoying himself. He flashed a charming smile at Rogue who looked happy to see him. The Institute had an extra appeal to it with her being here. Remy was honestly looking forward to getting to know her better. She was unique, that girl. Remy looked over at Colossus, he frowned in surprise at the tin man's presence but gave a nod of recognition. Seems he wasn't the only one who had the idea to come to the Institute. He knew why he was there but what was Rasputin's excuse to leave Mother Russia? The silence was getting boring now, someone should say something.

"I guess we saw de same recruitment poster, eh, mon ami?" Gambit directed at Colossus. "What brings you here, so far away from home?"

"My reasons for being here are none of your concern." Colossus responded curtly to Gambit. Gambit wasn't hurt by his response, it's not like you could really call them friends. Magneto's Acolytes were more like a group that tolerated each other than teammates. That said they were quite an 'interesting' group. For example; Pyro was a raving lunatic, Sabertooth was only happy when he was ripping something or someone to shreds, Gambit was in it for 'personal' reasons, Colossus was there by blackmail (making him the most decent of them all) and the whole group was led by Magneto - a power mad, mutant supremacist. A far cry from the Brady Bunch, one might say. However, Gambit's thoughts were interrupted by Xavier.

"I would be interested in hearing those reasons, Mr. Rasputin, if you wouldn't mind coming into my office." The Russian stepped away from Kitty reluctantly and into the Professor's office. The Professor was about to close the door, when he paused. "Rogue, I would like an opportunity to talk to you after Mr. Rasputin?" Rogue's eyebrows flicked up for a moment, she had been slightly distracted.

"Sure, Professor." She responded. Rogue suspected what he wished to discussed.

"Thank you. In the meantime, I believe our new team member would like to get settled in. So I suppose someone should show him to his room." Gambit smiled and looked over to Rogue, hoping his room would be somewhere near hers before his wishful thinking was purposely interrupted by a smiling Xavier. "Logan, would you do the honours?" All humour was gone from Remy now as Logan growled with an evil smile.

"My pleasure, Chuck." Remy gulped as Logan reach out with one hand and grabbed him by the collars of his trench coat and shoved him down the hall in the opposite direction to where Rogue was standing. He quickly regained his balance and produced his deck of cards which glowed violently to encourage the Wolverine to cease with the man-handling. Both men stalked off down the hall. Xavier sighed and closed the door to his office leaving Kitty and Rogue behind.

oOo

Her typing was irregular, clicking link after link for a glimpse of a lead for what she was searching for. Her eyes were beginning to get sore from the effort, plus her short dark hair was just getting long enough to obstruct her vision. Finally she gave up and slammed her hand on the counter. Unfortunately, all the computers along the counter exploded with her anger, earning her terrified looks from everyone in the internet café. The manager got over his shock only long enough to reach for his phone and dial 911. A gust of wind flew past him and he was left staring at his empty hand, while everyone else in the cafe were left staring at a suddenly empty space. They could no longer see the girl they were staring at a moment ago; it was as if she had just disappeared with the wind and into the night.

Once a safe distance away from the cafe and prying eyes, the speedy white haired young mutant set his sister down. True to his Quicksilver nature he didn't waste any time before declaring his point.

"What were you thinking? You're getting more and more careless, Wanda!" Pietro shouted at his twin sister who glared back at him.

"I can handle myself, Pietro!" She responded crossly to her dear brother.

"I know that but with your recent record of very public and very incriminating displays of anger, you're making yourself a target and by association, me also! What is with you lately?" Pietro continued shouted at her, with an interesting mixture of anger and fake concern for himself to mask his concern for her.

"I have to find him, Pietro." Wanda explained briefly, thinking he should not need any more information than that.

"What did you think would help on the internet? It's not like he has a web page, updating his blog with his most recent photos of wherever that's not here!" Pietro retorted in his usual smart ass tone, which he quickly regretted. This was typical for him, running his mouth off without thinking it through. "Look, I'm sorry that you can't find him, Wanda, but clearly he doesn't want to be found." Pietro tried to sympathise with his sister. She looked at him, hard and cold.

"I don't care what he wants." She hissed at her brother. Pietro was genuinely shocked. He was under the impression that she was looking for him because she was worried or something, but this tone was all about revenge.

"But I thought you wanted to find him to play happy families again or something? You know, because you missed him?" Pietro quickly rambled. Wanda clenched her fists tighter.

"I missed him alright..." She stated threateningly.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Pietro asked, clearly confused. He had no idea why she would want to hurt Magneto, but Wanda's reply would put paint to it. A few moments of silence pasted, which felt like centuries to Pietro, but finally she said something.

"The memories he took from me are coming back, and I've seen enough to know what he's really like." She answered darkly. Pietro gulped, concern for himself increasing more and more.

"And me?" He asked tentatively. She didn't look him in the eye.

"You've been kind enough to me for me to forgive you, eventually. But right, now?" She looked him in the eye to make sure he understood. "Don't get in my way..." With that she turned and walked away from him and into the darkness.

oOo

Logan watched Gambit walk around his new room inspecting this and that. Logan could not understand why Chuck would let this guy into the mansion, let alone stay. It was going to be difficult to work with him, in the Institute and on a team. How can you have a good team when no one could trust or depend on one member? Logan knew he was being harsh on the kid, but this guy just brings it out in him. The fact that he used Rogue for his own schemes the last time he saw him, and that he was denied the pleasure of tearing him limb from limb for it, may contribute something to his dislike and agitation. Gambit sat on the bed to give his review.

"Dis is nice, mon ami, very nice." He concluded to Logan with an irritating smile in Logan's opinion.

"Probably more than you deserve." Logan responded with a quiet growl. Gambit didn't know why he felt the need to poke the bear, or the Wolverine in this case, but he couldn't resist.

"So... where does Roguey sleep?" Logan's response was full growl this time, followed by him slamming the door shut. Remy was slightly disappointed; he expected a bigger reaction than that from him. Then, a split second later, three claws came through the door at eye level and sliced their way down to the bottom before retracting. Gambit smiled. "G'night, Sunshine!" He called out through his carved up door.

oOo

Colossus sat uncomfortably, having finished explaining his long list of reasons for coming to Westchester to Professor Xavier. The Professor sat pensively, Piotr was not prone to fidgeting but the current circumstance dictated it. The Professor was thinking it over for a moment, or that was what Piotr thought he was doing until Kitty walked through the door. Then he understood he was just sending a telepathic summons.

"So, is he staying?" Kitty asked Xavier excitedly, looking back and forth between both men expectantly. Colossus looked to Xavier for the answer also. Xavier smiled to them both.

"Yes, Kitty. I believe Mr. Rasputin will make a fine addition to our team." Colossus moved forwards to shake his hand in appreciation.

"Thank you, Professor." Piotr gratefully replied. Xavier shook his hand back and looked towards Kitty.

"Ms. Pryde will show you to your room." Kitty gave a mock curtsy, to which Piotr held out his arm like a proper gentleman. Kitty didn't expect the manners she carried out in jest to be reciprocated but she found herself pleasantly surprised and took his offered arm. She turned them to lead Piotr out the door, but Logan was blocking the exit.

"The room's pretty easy to identify - it's opposite the one I decorated." Logan described, gesturing to his extended claws.

Unsnikt!

Kitty escorted Colossus out of the room.

"I take it that you have helped Mr. LeBeau settle in then?" Charles inquired, frowning at Logan's use of his claws.

"What are you thinking, Chuck? You gonna take in Magneto next?" Xavier knew it was meant as sarcasm but he could help but smile at how accurate Logan was to one of his visions.

"Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, Logan." He answered non-committal, guiding his chair towards the lit fireplace. Logan followed him there leaning one arm on the high mantelpiece staring into the fire.

"You sure you know what you're doing, Chuck?" For a moment, Charles wondered if he meant more than just taking in the Acolytes. Before he could respond, there was a knock to the open door. Both men turned their heads to see Rogue standing in the doorway, looking a little shy as if she was approaching a strange dog.

"You wanted to speak with me, Professor." She asked from the doorway, holding one arm with the other.

"Yes Rogue, please come in and take a seat." Rogue obliged and sat on couch on the end near the fire. Logan crossed his arms, his stance saying that he didn't want to be kicked out for this discussion but he would offer to exit the room anyway.

"Want me to leave, Chuck?" Logan asked. Xavier read his protective body language and thought otherwise.

"No Logan, this may concern you too." He answered, Rogue now certain of the topic of conversation.

"Rogue, I'm afraid I have been distracted lately. I apologise for not having talked to you privately yet regarding your training with Logan throughout the summer." Xavier's remorse was true and his apology heartfelt.

"That's okay, Professor. I know you can be very busy." Rogue replied sheepishly, not wanting to be petty. Charles felt he had neglected one of his children and needed her to understand that he meant what he said.

"Still, it is no excuse. Please forgive me." Charles made eye contact with Rogue. She knew he meant it but did not want the attention.

"Of course, Professor, but really, it's okay. Logan's been helpin' me tryin' to learn more about my powers." Despite the apology, both Rogue and the Professor knew that this was the real issue.

"Yes, I have heard a rumour that you both now have more in common than before? Is it true, that you have Logan's abilities?" The Professor inquired, but Rogue was much better at show than tell.

Snikt! Snikt!

Xavier flinched at the claws erupting from Rogue's hand. Not out of fear, but pure surprise. Clearly a part of him did not believe he information Scott told him. It would make sense, however, and would explain why Rogue had seemed different upon her return to the Institute.

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner Professor." Rogue looked down at her hands, and retracted her bone claws.

Unsnikt! Unsnikt!

Without the claws insight, Charles was able to snap out of the momentary hypnosis they had caused.

"That is quite alright, Rogue, After all, I have not given you much of an opportunity to do so." He tried to make eye contact with her, but she was still looking at her hands in concentration. "I am curious as to why you felt the need to hide this from your teammates, however." Rogue was still looking at her hands and not at Xavier. Logan's attention was on her hands also.

"I just didn't want them to be afraid of me. I'm still working on controllin' 'em." As she said that, Xavier looked down at her hands also and saw that the wounds had not closed yet. He looked up at Logan, slightly alarmed, but he was still staring at Rogue. Rogue's brow furrowed in concentration, and Xavier looked back down to her hands and started to see the wounds heal up slowly. When they were fully healed she looked up to Xavier. "I'm not exactly dependable. I wouldn't count on them yet, but Logan's helpin' me to understand it."

Xavier nodded silently. Rogue would need much more time with Logan to gain control, and he would give that to her. She saved the world from Apocalypse, it was the least he could do.

Logan made eye contact with Rogue. Nothing was said, but it had let her know that he wouldn't say anything to contradict what she just told the Professor. At least she had the decency to look ashamed for blatantly lying to Chuck, but he understood that it was necessary. Concentrating to on not using his healing factor to make it look like she didn't have control over his abilities was inspired, however. This girl was always full of surprises.

oOo

The air was hot and humid; a side effect when one can't afford a proper AC system. A young woman was tossing and turning, beginning to wake-up from only a short slumber. She turned her head on her pillow and heard and felt something crinkle under her left olive toned cheek. She opened her dark brown eyes to her room, still lit from the light over her desk and discovered that what was on the pillow were her set of notes. She was trying to learn them off for her exam tomorrow, and as she looked at her watch, she noticed that her exam was in twelve hours. She had fallen asleep above the covers still dressed in the clothes she'd been wearing that day in the library. The good news was that the information on the pages hadn't fallen out her head while she slept, the bad news was that she had the mother of all caffeine with-drawl headaches building at the top of head and over her eyes. Coffee and more cramming were in order, and a shower to help wake her up later before she leaves the house.

Esther grabbed her synopsised notes and headed for the kitchen, careful not to disturb her student-type housemates that maybe sleeping or recovering or other. She reached the kitchen and set down her notes to heat up a fresh pot of coffee. She tied back her long dark hair in to a high pony tail as she poured through pages of reactions and mechanisms in her mind's eye for her exam in pharmaceutical chemistry.

The room was quiet with just the hum of the refrigerator and the coffee pot. Unease set in when she started to feel like she wasn't alone. The irises of her eyes changed from their normal brown colour to deep red, only someone very observant would have noticed the difference. She was a mutant, but had taken great care not to reveal herself as one for fear of persecution. She recently let her guard down with one of her new housemates, Janette.

Janette was upset over news from home that her brother was beaten badly by some local boys. They saw him welding in metal shop and handle near-molten arc welding material barehanded without injury to himself. When Janette started to worry that she had said too much, Esther thought she could put her at ease by sharing her little secret. They became fast friends.

Esther's abilities allow her to see in the Infrared spectrum. Looking around the kitchen she could see the sources of heat from the electric equipment and even the wires behind the walls and the light source in the room. Behind the sofa there was a bundled glow of heat, someone very petite was hiding behind there.

"Are you okay?" She called out, seeing the mass flinch. "I know you're there..." She slowly approached the sofa before hearing a soft growl that halted her in her tracks. She held up her hands in surrender. "Am... Oookay... You don't have to be afraid of me, I won't hurt you."

"I'm not afraid." A female voice responded from the behind the sofa. It was young and indignant.

"Well, would you please come out then?" She pleaded with their guest, her heart starting to race and her voice was starting to shake. The young girl stood up slowly and stepped away from the sofa and into the light. Esther switched to her normal viewing spectrum to see a lost little girl dressed mostly in black leather. She was tanned, probably from being on the run for a while. Her hair was long and dark but wild looking, as were here eyes. Esther offered a weak smile.

"I'm always looking for my keys under the sofa, what were you looking for?" She half joked. She took in the state of the girl; except for the style of clothing she was wearing she looked like a typical runaway, not very well groomed and tired and underfed. She had an icy stare, probably hadn't much experience of kindness in her life. The girl did not respond. "Would you like something to eat?"

"I should go." The girl finally said, moving towards the door.

"Wait! It's okay!" Esther shouted after the girl, who paused to listen. "You can stay here. Please, you look like you could do with some rest and some food. I won't ask any questions." Silence followed until she responded to the offer.

"Okay." That was all she said, before turning back to her. She looked down shyly. "Sorry about your door." Esther looked at the back door to the house for the first time and saw the door ajar with the locks sliced clean through. Wondering how someone could do that, she sounded a little distracted.

"Don't worry about it." She replied still staring at the door. She snapped out of her reverie to return to what she had promised this child. "What would you like to eat?" The girl shrugged as if to say 'whatever'. "Right, take a seat and I'll make you a sandwich or something." The girl walked over to the sofa again and sat up straight and stared front ways, like she was in obedience training. Esther turned her attentions back to the kitchen, opening her cupboard, seeing what she had from the 'eclectic' mix of student foods.

"How does PB and J sound?" She called over her shoulder to her guest.

**End of Chapter 11**

Can anyone guess who the unnamed mutant is? c",) Since the last chapter, another friend told me that she used to pronouce Ginny's name like Guinea as in guinea pig, lol! Thank you to Courtney Summers for trying my pen name! A fair attempt, I must say!


	12. Chapter 12

**A.N. Hello, everyone having fun? I hope so! Thanks for the reviews! But now I shall say no more and let ye to it! RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 12**

The hallways were dark and quiet, something he was used to and something that he liked. His red eyes glowed in the darkness as he made his way through the metallic corridors. He was getting to know his way around quickly and was finding interesting things behind every locked door, the locked ones always held the good stuff. But he wasn't stealing anything, just sating his curiosity. He doesn't do petty crimes, only high paid ones. He walked past one room that had a light on behind the door. He decided to just have a peek and see who and what was in there.

Through the half open door, the smell of coffee was the first thing that hit him. Looking around he saw many screens over a large console, all on and displaying new reports on mute casting a glow on a furry blue Beast sitting to the side of them. Gambit was curious as to what he was doing, so late at night and clearly so obsessively, but not curious enough to deter him from further exploration. He could find out what the Beast was up to later.

He wandered the rest of the lower levels and the ground floor, around the living areas and kitchen. He took a walk outside around the gardens and found himself at the cliffs before he knew it. Once there he looked out on the water and felt oddly serene for the first time in a long while. He felt free in this new home, finally able to leave his baggage behind him once and for all. This will be a fresh start. He knew it would take some time to fit in here but he was prepared for that. He wasn't worried; and if it didn't work out he'd just simply go somewhere else.

He was heading back inside and to his own room for the night when he heard some quite rustling from around the corner. He approached the corner in time to see a young women climbing down two storeys from her window, clearly up to no good. Well, he wasn't about to complain because he liked that in a girl. At least now he knew which room was hers. She jumped the last few feet and landed softly. He saw her heading in his direction and hid in the shadows around the corner, waiting for her to pass.

She rounded the corner and was alerted to his presence by the shuffling of his deck of cards, flicking them expertly from one hand to the other. She was surprised but checked herself just in time before popping the claws she concealed. She paused and let out a small growl of irritation.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on people." She told him before continuing on. But he wasn't going to just let her go that easily.

"Hey, way I see it, you snuck up on me. I was just hangin' 'round here by myself mindin' my own business until you came along." He challenged playfully. Turning back to him he saw her roll her eyes at him again for the second time that evening.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked in a clearly agitated voice.

"Jus' havin' a look around... The Wolverine isn't de best tour guide, you know?" He expected her to laugh but she gave a barely audible growl instead. Gambit thought a change of subject was in order then. "So where are you going so late at night, Cheri?" He moved forward towards her, closer to her. He was nearly half a foot taller than her, he noticed. She looked up at him with her head cocked to the side.

"Ah thought you said you were mindin' your own business?" She stated as a clear blockade to him being clued in as to what she was up to. He smiled down at her, loving her feistiness.

"Was. But now you've caught my attention... as usual." He reached out unconsciously to brush his hand along her covered arm but she flinched visibly. He quickly pulled back his hand, silently cursing himself. The girl has spent the last few years of her life avoiding close contact with anyone, why did he think he would be any exception? The mood turned slightly awkward as Rogue looked anywhere but at him, a blush forming on her cheeks.

"Ah have to go." She said tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she turned to leave. But he wasn't going let it end like that.

"Wait, Rogue, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." He started to apologise to her before she turned to face him and interrupted.

"It's okay, Remy, really." She quickly told him. "I just don't want to hurt anyone." She added quietly. He took a step closer to her, standing tall and looking her in the eyes.

"I'm not afraid." He told her, confidently. She looked away from him again.

"I am." With that she moved away towards the front gates. She knew as well as he did that although tempted, he would not follow her.

oOo

The mansion was starting to get overcrowded in Logan's opinion. Well, generally a crowd of more than one was too many in Logan's opinion, always too many voices and scents that would culminate in to agitating noise signals in his brain. Every opportunity to escape was welcomed by Logan. Pushing his bike from the garage to the front gates, even if someone saw him there were no questions asked. The night air was cool and crisp on his skin. Reaching the gates, he rolled the motorbike up next to a similar one and put down the kick stand to lean against his prized possession. He closed his eyes and cracked his neck right then left, and stretched in the night air. All he had to do now was to wait for Rogue.

She didn't tell him much about what she had to do tonight, just that she needed his help with the powers she had to try. She sounded deeply worried when she had asked him. He had already seen her breakdown with a few of the powers she had tried. Not counting the encounter with Kurt earlier that day when she was attempting Leech's abilities, there have been many dramatic reactions. The worst of the worst included the first time she tried his powers.

He woke up after passing out to heal the stab wound he received. He was in the middle of the woods in Alberta, alone. The fact that she was nowhere to be seen scared him half to death, the other half wasn't doing too hot either. He started tracking her scent well before he was actually ready to do so, the running constantly ripping the newly formed skin and tissues in his chest, but the adrenaline and fear that gripped him for her negated all of that. It was only when he found her was he still enough to let the wounds heal fully. She was lost and out of her senses, a danger to herself.

Then last night, he had seen how hard it had been on her to tap into Magneto's abilities and the physical drain she felt from it. She had been weakened from trying Ororo's abilities beforehand, and trying both on the same night exhausted her. He knew she hadn't gotten much rest since then, probably only a few hours sleep before all of the drama with Kurt happened that morning and he guessed not a whole lot to eat either. And now, she decided that she still felt the need to try a persona that could be worse and more taxing on her than his or Magneto's. He knew she was in a rush, but surely this could wait until tomorrow night at the very least. He sighed, knowing that she was just stubborn as him so even if he suggested it they would be at a stalemate.

A light foot step alerted him to her presence. From instinct, he knew it was her.

"You ready, kid?" He asked not looking at her as she moved around him towards her own bike.

"Am Ah ever?" He looked up at her, with her reply. She was getting on her bike but before she put on her helmet he noticed her cheeks were a little flushed looking, like she was on the verge of tears again. If she was like this before they started, how was she going to handle whoever it was she needed to control next?

"You okay, Rogue?" She shook her head in response and kicked her bike in to gear.

"Let's just go." She said, putting an end to the conversation.

They drove hard and fast down the familiar route to the lake, the speed helping Rogue calm herself before the task ahead. They reached the lake in record time and this time Rogue's usual routine included the Wolverine for the first time. They left their bikes and walked to the same stony shore. Logan stood back as she calmed and centred herself. She took off her jacket and her gloves and set them down nearby before returning to the same spot on the shore where the stones were disturbed and dipped, from her frequent visits, by comparison to the rest of the random uniformity along the water's edge.

Snikt! Snikt!

Every night she popped the claws and every night she would retract them and let the wounds heal before she really got started.

Unsnikt! Unsnikt!

The skin on her knuckles mended, signalling for Logan to approach.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Rogue turned to him and shrugged.

"Keep me sane." She said simply as she sat down on the ground. Logan frowned at her bluntness over the situation before he stood opposite her. She looked up at him and found his eyes. "Are you ready?"

"Are you?" He asked her again, more firmly this time. Her shoulders slumped.

"Logan, I have to do this now, while I have the nerve." She told him quietly.

"It can wait until tomorrow, Rogue, when you're more rested." He replied protectively. When she didn't respond he tried to guilt her into answering. "Are you even going to tell me whose powers you're trying?" Rogue sighed.

"All the rest in the world won't matter, Logan." She responded truthfully. She paused and stared into the space between them. "It's not the powers I'm nervous of... it's the person. And if I skip this one, I may as well quit now."

Somehow, from how she was talking, Logan knew who she was talking about. He sat down in front of her and nodded, signalling her to do what she had to.

oOo

The slightest noise, the flick of a page, a sip of coffee, readjusting a seating position and her eyes would shoot open a quickly check around the room, before going back to a light sleep on the sofa. Esther had cleared away the evidence of the mid-night snack and watched over the girl as she slept shortly. She had convinced the girl to get at least a few hours kip before running off to wherever she was going. She promised the girl that she would be safe enough here and that she wouldn't ask any questions. She had kept her promise thus far, but just because she didn't ask any questions it didn't mean she didn't have a lot that she would ask otherwise.

By now she was sure of two things about this girl, she had been badly mistreated in her life which is probably the reason she was so tough and guarded. The other was that she was definitely a mutant. She had a closer look at the door that was damaged by her entry and there was no way someone could have severed the locks that way without some seriously sharp tools, which given the look of her, it didn't look like she had. Then again, maybe she did.

Footsteps approached the door, instinctively Esther switched from her normal vision to the infrared spectrum to see who or what was outside. She could see the outline of a slender person stumble around outside before approaching the door. It was probably one of her housemates returning home after a late night party, although she thought everyone was at home. She glanced upwards at the living room ceiling to see beyond it and count out who was home. Of the four bedrooms in the house, two were vacant, hers and Janette's.

She looked over to the young girl asleep on her sofa wondering home she was going to explain her presence, but she was gone. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see something disappearing out of the window and into the night just as Janette came stumbling through the door. The door clearly did not provide the resistance she was expecting as she fell through the unlocked door with her keys in one hand and stilettos in the other. Catching her balance incredibly given her drunken state, she frowned at the door.

"Door's open!" She concluded loudly. Esther got up to assist her before she woke the whole house up. Janette tried to put her keys back in her purse but unable to fully complete the task gracefully, she dropped her stilettos on the hard tiled floor unbeknownst to her and turned in Esther's direction at the noise. She saw Esther and held her index finger to her lips before adding in a loud whisper: "Shhh! You'll wake Esther!" She burst into a fit of giggles as Esther rolled her eyes and guided her to the sofa where Janette lied down and made herself comfortable.

"Umm, warm." She muttered before lapsing into a sound sleep for the night, snoring loudly. Esther looked for traces of where she had been. Stamped on her left hand were the symbols of Sigma Delta Psi, a sorority house down the road.

"Starting up early this year, I see." She added as she but a blanket over her friend, and placed a bucket nearby... just in case. The girl was gone, now. Hopefully she would return, but Esther thought it unlikely. With a new charge to look after she remained where she was and set about getting yet another cup of coffee.

She reached for the cup that she had left on the counter, but never made it as the power was cut in the house. Suddenly, a strong arm grabbed her from behind around the waist while another covered her mouth, stifling her scream. She clawed at her intruder behind her and felt the goggles and balaclava. Unable to alert the others, she pushed forwards throwing herself and her attacker off balance into the counter, smashing the coffee cup to pieces. She got a look at who had attacked using her infrared vision only to see four of them, before her original attacker got her with the taser gun. She fell to the floor writhing in agony until someone jumped in through the window.

Snikt! Snikt!

It was the girl, she came back. She landed in front of the window and sliced through the taser wires extending from the gun to Esther. Esther remained on the floor recovering from the pain, but she used her powers to see around her. The girl was fighting and slicing her way through the intruders as her other two housemates came down the stairs, confused and scared by what was going on, Esther could see more of the intruders filing into the room from outside. Esther crawled along the floor towards Janette, who was also crawling, the event sobering her up quickly. One of the intruders dropped a heavy container; the smell of gasoline filled the air. Janette freaked a little when Esther touched her arm until she realised that it was her friend.

"What's happening?!" She cried to Esther, as she started pulling her towards their other housemates who had run up the stairs, trying to escape through the upstairs windows since their downstairs exits were blocked with the fighting.

"I think they're after the mutant." Esther cried back into Janette's ear, sobs catching her voice.

"You mean, you?!" Janette replied in her panic stricken voice.

"No, I mean..." Something clicked. Ester gasped, she grabbed Janette by arm and forced her to look at her, in the darkness Janette's eyes were unfocused and full of tears, but Esther could see clearly in more ways than one. "Jan, who did you tell?!" She shook her get her to answer. "Who?!"

"I'm sorry, Ess, I didn't mean to!" She choked out. Fear gripped her heart as she realised that she was the target. She pushed Janette towards the staircase, as she got up and ran over to the fight. She wasn't going to let this girl die for her. She was able to see in the darkness but so were they. She was no match for them as all it took was for one stray punch to take out of the game. Propped herself on her elbows to witness the girls fight. Bodies of the fallen intruders were strewn about getting colder in her vision, there were two left inside and three retreating outside.

"Let's go, she wasn't in the brief!" Someone, probably the leader, shouted to the other two still inside. The girl growled and swiped at one of the intruders, both fished something out of their pockets. One looked like her took out a flare, but the other took of a small plastic pouch of powder and flung it at the girl.

"Eat this, mutie!" He shouted as his companion who just lit the flare objected.

"Nooo!" He reached out, but it was too late, the girl swiped at it instinctively causing the contents to disperse over everyone in the room as the flare blinded Esther. She heard all three and the flare drop and the heat build up around them, the house was on fire. The flames were not her immediate concern as the powder that was thrown on all four of them was asphyxiating and caused them to cough and choke. Her lungs were burning for air, she could barely think. With her last moments before the end of her suffering, she thought she could hear the others outside.

"What do we do?!" One of the attackers shouted over the growing noise of the flames.

"Let it burn." Their leader said darkly. He said something else too, but Esther thought he must have been whispering, because she could barely hear him anymore...

**End of Chapter 12**

A.N. Hmmm, something something something darkER...


	13. Chapter 13

**A.N. Woot-ness! Over 2000 hits! Thank you, everyone! R&R, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 13**

He had been staring at the same screen for hours. He hadn't felt this drained since the sleepless nights when he was researching En Sabah Nur, and before that, college. Beast's eyes burned from the strain. He felt like the answer was staring him right in the face, and every time his hopes were raised when he ran with a new thought or a trend he was left worse than when he started when he found it obliterated, and it crushed him. It made him feel that all the education and books smarts in the world would never be enough. This wasn't an exam and this wasn't some challenging puzzle, this was a matter of life and death for mutants and humans across the country.

The Beast sipped his cold coffee like a penance for not having figured out who was behind most of these attacks yet. He didn't know why it felt like he was the only one in the world that the responsibility fell to, but he did. He must crack this conspiracy. Xavier was preoccupied with something else which he had yet to confide in him, and Logan was helping and training Rogue with her recently acquired powers. Ororo, Jean and Scott were left to train most of the others, leaving Hank in charge of this project. He wasn't alone in his research, however. The students were wonderful, offering their help without him needing to ask. If anything, he would send them away when he though they were on the verge of burning out. Of course, he never took his own advice.

Just when he was about to give up for the night, a few of the screens above the console started flashing, shortly after so did Hank's cell phone. The screens showed an identified trend while monitoring 911 calls. It identified the same house which had separate calls from neighbours and cell phones claiming a series of charges ranging from domestic disturbances and breaking and entering. The sleep deprivation caused Hank to see things almost in slow motion as another screen kicked in along with the police reports: Cerebro. It had scanned the area for mutant activity and had started creating profiles for two identified mutants using their powers in the area.

Having also received alerts to their phones or communicators, Kurt was the first to arrive at the multimedia room via teleportation, followed shortly by a phasing Kitty.

"Vat's happening?!" Kurt asked Beast urgently as Kitty launched towards the console to see for herself.

"There's an attack happening! At least two mutants and a whole lot of bad guys!" Kitty said frantically interpreting the data from Cerebro as Scott and Jean rushed in. Storm entered the room a few moments after, ready to go in her uniform. The first of the two profiles had downloaded while Cerebro was still working on the second. Esther Chatelier: aged twenty-one, height of five feet, eight inches and her last known address which happened to correspond with the police reports. An image was generated next to her data with the words: 'Powers Active' written underneath.

"Where?" Scott asked, the leader in him taking control of the situation.

"Upstate, Rochester." Beast replied. "Of the two mutants, one is a low level but Cerebro has detected that the other is a level four." Hank informed them just as Cerebro started downloading the image of the second mutant while saying, 'Unidentified Mutant Signature'. Xavier came through the door just in time to gasp along with everyone else in the room. The image of X-23 finished downloading on the screen as underneath it popped up: 'Powers Active'. Xavier was the first to respond.

"Ororo, get the jet ready. Hank, Scott and Kurt, you're to go with her. Kitty, Jean and I will patch through any additional information we get." Everyone but Scott moved on his orders.

"Sir, what about Logan?" Scott asked, before heading for the hanger.

"I can't sense him in the mansion, Scott, and you can't afford to lose time waiting for him." Scott hesitated for a fraction of a second before he ran out towards the X-jet. Once in the jet it would only take them a few minutes to get out there, however, Xavier looked at the latest reports which were the most disturbing yet, someone on their cell phone asking for the fire brigade. They may be too late as he watched Cerebro lose track of the one of the mutant signatures.

oOo

_She was frightened. She had to figure out what do despite her fear, not for her, but for her daughter. Something had to be done. To secure both their futures, she had no choice. But that wasn't true, she did have a choice, the choice not to choose but she did. When it came down to the two of them, she __chose her and not him..._

_Panic had set in, a__ll the years they missed out on, the lies the secrecy to protect her. She would not let it end this way. If she had stayed with her this would never have had to happen, but she already knew the outcome if she did nothing. Her plan was risky, but considering the alternative she had no choice. Later, she watched from afar as he carried her off in his arms, his look of despair mirroring her own. She knew he would see her through this. As much as she hated him, she trusted him..._

_Xavier could not take this away from her, she had a right to be near her, to hear how her day went, to give her a hug when she was down. If she could not be her mother, she would settle for being __her friend, but she would not delude herself into thinking that it was an objective. It was simply a benefit of her real plans..._

_He left her! Her left her! All those years that she did as he asked! She proved herself time and time again to him, for him, and he still didn't choose her. She should have been first on his list! Instead he made her fight for it like an animal! And all the while claiming that they were superior to humans, that they were the animals when all the while he was the Neanderthal! But she had come out the better for it and she would show him..._

_She was hurt, she was pained. She entered her office and braced herself on her desk. She hummed to herself 'I won't cry, I won't cry...' before she let her pain turn to its usual default, anger. In one swift movement of her left hand she powerfully struck all the objects from her desk and sent them crashing to the floor. She picked up a lamp and hurled it in any direction, she didn't care. Her rapid heart rate, and choked breathing was all she heard as she watch the lamp fly through the air a smash unevenly against the wall and bookshelf. Her eyes watered as she stood there watching the pieces rain on to the floor but she did not let a single tear fall. She would never give Xavier the satisfaction of getting to her__, despite the amount of pain he just made her relive. 'Was it worth the loss of your son?'..._

_She searched all over for them. Why had he taken him? She had returned home to find him gone, the only clue to who had taken him where the misshapen bars on his cradle. In her raven form, she flew the few miles to the castle where she knew he was hiding. She was so surprised when he came to see her and the baby. When she left him for a normal life he looked at her with such anger and disgust, but now it seemed all forgotten. She was a fool! The second she saw him she should have taken the boy and ran. _

_She entered a window high up in one of the towers because she saw a flicker of light there. __She landed softly and changed back to her 'normal' self. Around the corner she heard the whimpers of a baby, her baby. He was cold and hungry and he missed her. She missed him. She followed the sound of his voice, her heart pounding for him. She ran into the room, which was more like some twisted laboratory than a room for a child. Her eyes darted around frantically looking for her child, and then she saw him._

"_Nooo!" She ran to her baby, briefly taking in his dramatic change in appearance before picking him up in his blankets and holding him close. A shadow passed over her and she turned, tears down her face. _

"You monster! What have you done to him?!" Rogue shouted as she fell forwards, clutching her head. Logan caught her before she hit the stony ground between them. He felt her go limp and saw the tears building. Despite the obvious torment she was going through, this was the first thing that she shouted in her trance.

_She held the baby closer to her chest and wrapped her own cloak around them both and ran past him, out of the castle and into the cold night air. _

"_Come back at once!" He demanded of her, following her out into the snow. _

_She had to get him away from here, but how? He was so much stronger than her. How would she be able to protect her son__ from him? How would she be able to protect him from the world? Magneto had taken that away from him, away from her. He looked normal, he would have had twelve to fifteen years of his life looking normal, and he's destroyed that! She can hide it if she needs to, but he's just a baby and now people would just see a demon. _

_She heard barking in the distance, and it was chasing her. She couldn't transform, she would drop him. She relied on her own two feet to run her to safety. The wolves were getting closer. The bridge. If she got across the rope bridge, maybe from there she could protect him from the beasts. She turned and headed straight for it. The thunderous sound of the water in the gorge grew louder the closer she got to it. The animals caught up at with her at the crossing and started biting and tearing at her cloak. She raised her screaming son above her head to protect him. Two of the wolves jumped for him, knocking her backwards. She lost her hold him. She reached out to him but it was too late. He fell over the bridge, and dropped down to the icy waters below and heart fell with him._

"_Nooo!" She cried as she watched him disappear __in to the mist below. She collapsed to her knees and hands and started beating the bridge underneath her as she broke down. Between gasps of air and heart wrenching sobs she managed to process Magneto's presence. He just stood there and watched. He could have saved him; he had the power and did nothing!_

"_Why?!" She shouted, her voice got caught in her throat and she tried again. "Why?!!" Magneto said nothing, and flew away and leaving her to freeze in her own despair.__.._

"Why?!!" She screamed into someone's shoulder. The cold was gone from around her but not from her mind as she was still shivering. It took her a moment to realise that she was being warmed by a large frame wrapped around her. She started remembering who she was, and where she was. Logan knew she had come back when he felt her tense up and her fists bundle in his shirt.

"Ah can't do it, Logan! It's too much..." She cried into his shirt. He stroked her hair with a gloved hand and let her regain her composure. He knew she wouldn't quit, but she needed a minute. Her breathing evened out and quietened. For a second he thought she had fallen asleep, but she had delved straight back into that tortured mess of a mind.

oOo

The house was a blaze; the fire brigade had only just arrived on the scene. Kurt teleported Hank and himself down to the ground in the back garden of the house from the X-jet, as Storm floated down gracefully. She stayed hovering just a bit above the house to conjure rain to help quench the fire but the it was too severe to have been forgiving to anyone who did not get out in time. Ororo could see from her vantage point that two police cars and two ambulances had pulled up outside on the main street behind the fire brigade. Firemen had pulled three people away from the blaze and they were currently being treated for smoke inhalation and leg injuries. None of them looked like X-23 or the other mutant, but the Professor had informed them that while X-23's signal had grown weak, it was too late for the other mutant.

Beast looked around the yard. There was a lot of traffic through here, recently. In the grass there were multiple footprints, all the same style but of varied sizes and weights. Kurt's attentions were on the building, he looked back to Hank for approval. Hank nodded.

Bamf!

Kurt tried to teleport in but could only stay for a split second before he was incinerated.

Bamf!

He came out again coughing and his fur a little singed. Beast rushed over to him to help him catch his breath. Between gasps for air he managed to inform the Beast.

"There's no vay anyone could survive that!" Kurt coughed out, as the Beast looked through the, well, what would have been the back door. Inside, it was just a blinding inferno. To the side of house, someone had made another exit and crawled out of it, as evident by the drag marks.

"Someone did." Beast replied. It started raining heavily, courtesy of Ororo. Kurt could stand on his own now so the Beast walked over to the recently made exit. The flames had begun to die down; Hank could see the charred edges of the wood that looked sliced, not broken. X-23.

He saw the drag marks lead to the edges of the yard. Something sparked above him, the main electricity supply line into the house was cut and casting sparks down on top of him with each raindrop that hit. He went to follow the marks in the grass before the rain erased them completely. Ororo floated to the ground to Kurt and spotted the cut wire also.

"The police are taking statements. They are three of the four that live here." Ororo informed Kurt, but looked around him for Hank. "I believe that Hank has found something." Ororo and Kurt headed towards Hank's position. He had leaped over the yard fence and was searching the undergrowth of the little wilderness behind the houses.

Bamf!

Kurt teleported Ororo and himself next to the Beast. Hank ignored their sudden presence and paused his searching to sniff the air. He must have found some kind of scent, because he made a dash for some bushes twenty feet deeper into the woods. He moved aside some branches to unveil a badly burnt, unconscious young girl. Ororo gasped and moved to check her vitals, but her eyes opened.

Snikt!

X-23 had feebly raised her clawed hand for a pathetic strike at Ororo, before letting it fall back again.

"X... Men..." she whispered to them, her voice hoarse, presumably from the smoke. Kurt took in her appearance. Her outfit had mostly burnt away or melted to her skin. She had a mixture of first, second and third degree burns all over. Her nose and mouth were blacken from the smoke. Her hair was singed and there were chemical burns around her nose and mouth also.

"Her skin should be healing faster than this; I don't know what's wrong." Hank whispered to Ororo. He knelt before X-23. "We need to get you out of here; will you let us take you to the Institute? To Logan?" She opened her eyes at Logan's name and nodded. Beast picked her up as gently as he could, and although it must have been extreme agony to her, she didn't make a sound. When he was ready to leave he nodded to Kurt.

"Vait, what about the other one?" Kurt's eyes danced between Ororo and Hank before landing on X-23's. She moved her moved her head from side to side, although it pained her in more ways than one to do so. Ororo put her hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"We have to go, Kurt. This was a strategic attack; we can't be seen here, especially not with a survivor." As if on cue, some of the police climbed in to the garden with flashlights.

Bamf!

One of the policemen raised his flashlight in the direction of the sound, only to illuminate some dispersing smoke beyond the fence.

oOo

_They always came, and they always found her. She had become the best at __hiding; she was better than everyone else in her class, but never good enough at home. She was their favourite punching bag. As soon as the school bus dropped her off, she would walk with someone for as long as possible before having to go home. She would walk with them anywhere, with the hope of being invited to stay the night. They wouldn't miss her at home, not until they were drunk and angry. Tonight she went home. She managed to avoid the second punch and get away, nursing a bruised jaw. He didn't follow, but she did, she wasn't as drunk... yet. _

_She hid behind someone else's back yard fence, crouched low. Hugging herself and rocking back and forth on her heels._

"_Where are you, you ungrateful little wretch?!" Her mother shouted from the house, her voice growing closer and closer. The child used her hands to cover her ears under her short dark hair, still rocking back and forth. The footsteps grew louder and louder and so did the sound of her heart. She started to whisper to herself right before her mother found her:_

"_I wish I was someone else, I wish I was someone else, I wish I was someone else..."_

Rogue opened her eyes wide and looked at Logan. She had found the connection. The whites of her eyes turned yellow and her normally green irises turned amber. Her lips change from purple to a dark blue, and her white stripes and brunette locks turned a deep red as her skin turned blue. Her outfit morphed and in mere moments she had completely transformed into Mystique.

The look of friendship and trust vanished from her eyes; all he saw there now was anger. She pushed away from him and used the force of it to jump back and stand herself up. She took a fighting stance. Logan stood and slowly approached her.

"Rogue, I know you're in there." He said calmly. "Talk to me." She frowned for a fraction of a second before whipping her head around to deliver a round house kick to his head to knock him off balance. Logan growled. "I don't want to fight ya!"

"Pity, I do!" Mystique smirked, then jumped up into the air and aimed to land a heavy kick to Wolverine who just stepped out of the way in time. Stones were dispersed into the air with the force of the kick.

"This is not who you are!" Mystique's blue skin turned furry as she transformed in to the Beast, and ran at Logan.

"Then maybe it's who I was meant to be!" She lunged at Logan and knocked him over. It was a good imitation, but Logan has fought the real Hank McCoy, these were still Mystique's moves and Mystique's strength. Rogue was still focussed entirely on Mystique. She jumped again and became the Juggernaut mid-air. Logan dodged the attack again, just in time. He had to get her to focus on him and come back to normal soon before she lost it and started using other people's powers along with shape shifting. She transformed into Sabretooth, Logan smiled with a growl when she lunged again, swiping furiously at him. He jumped back again and again, barely getting a scratch.

"Stay still, runt!" She growled. Logan laughed at her again, trying to bring out a 'different side' of her personality.

"Come on, do you really think you're better than me?!" He taunted her. She morphed once more into a different feral mutant.

"Do you?!" She growled back at him, her form a perfect mirror image of himself.

**End of Chapter 13**

A.N. I'm afraid it's not a good outlook on Esther so I apologise to those who liked her. And if you liked her, then thank you as she was an original character, in addition to Janette!

Ok, ok, ok, no winners for the pen name contest a few chapters back. (sigh) Bonus points would have been a paragraph of the next chapter by PM before it's published, ah well! (shrug) The answer was, drum roll please....

"Ree-Nuck's Rain"

Ta daa! I don't think anyone would have had a problem with the last word, but in the first, the 'ogh' is silent unless you have a knack for Irish phlegmy sounds, in which case it would have been...

"Ree-(ah)-Nuck's Rain"

But I digest... Chapter 14 coming up soon!


	14. Chapter 14

**A.N. Hello, s'me again! Havin' fun?! I am! Here's the next installement, enjoy! R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 14**

_Logan smiled with a growl when she lunged again, swiping furiously at him. He jumped back again and again, barely getting a scratch._

"_Stay still, runt!"__ She growled. Logan laughed at her again, trying to bring out a 'different side' of her personality._

"_Come on, do you really think you're better than me?!" He taunted her. She morphed once more into a different feral mutant._

"_Do you?!" She growled back at him, her form a perfect mirror image of himself._

It was a faceoff between the real Wolverine and the shape shifter dressed in a Wolverine's clothing. The two circled each other waiting for the other to strike. Rogue, or Mystique, was full of rage and had taken a firm hold over the girl. Although she had morphed into Logan, it was still all Mystique's powers that were being utilised. Mystique was a good fighter, but Logan was better and of the two of them, she'd tire first without a healing factor. His doppelganger ran at him, popping the claws as she ran.

Snikt! Snikt!

She swiped left and right at him. He blocked her swipes with his arms. He caught her wrists and delivered a kick to her torso, sending her flying back, but she flipped in the air and landed on her feet. His objective was not to harm her, defence only. But he needed to figure out how to bring her back to him without enticing her to use all those other powers that she had collected, otherwise it could end up just like when she first lost control only this time she would be more powerful.

Mystique knew she would never get a good shot in, attacking him one on one out in the open. She growled in his low voice, before running off towards the woodland away from the lake at top speed. Logan knew what she was doing but followed her anyway. She was running much faster than him, not being weighed down by Adamantium plated bones. It got to the point where he was relying on sound alone to follow her. Mystique's powers had masked her scent. The faint sounds she was making stopped suddenly, and so did Logan.

He pivoted on the spot, trying to sense which direction she had gone. He could barely make out his surroundings, the moonlight his only source of illumination in the dense tree growth. He crouched low, poising himself because he no longer felt like the hunter, but the hunted. He resisted the temptation to extend his claws. He would not hurt her. But she did not reciprocate the sentiment. He turned to his left just a little too late at the sound of her pounce.

She leapt with such strength and ferocity from the overgrowth; she had six claws aimed straight for his heart. His turning to the sound saved him in this match. He let his left arm take the full brunt of the claws as he swung it up in time to knock her arms to the side. Her claws cut deep but not through the bone, not through the Adamantium. He used his right hand to grab her by the front of her, or his, jacket to throw the rest of her strike off completely, throwing her over his crouched position and into a tree a few feet behind him. He felt drained after it though.

He didn't think Rogue, or Mystique, could not take much more of a battering as he watched her struggle to get up. She still looked like him as she used one clawed hand to push her up from the ground, the other to clutch her head. His arm was healing from the gashes left by her claws, but not as fast as it should have, and definitely not as fast as he'd like. She looked a little confused, and then it hit him. Those were Rogue's imitation claws, not her bone claws. He stood up straighter realising why he was feeling drained. The imitation claws were constructed from her skin. She had absorbed a little bit of him when she struck. He needed to capitalise on this moment, now.

"You call those things, claws? Come on, Rogue!" He taunted. "Show me what you're really made of!" Rogue snarled in his direction, the confusion being abandoned for pure rage.

Unsnikt! Unsnikt!

She abandoned Mystique's version of his Adamantium claws and ran straight at him. He didn't move and inch. The last few feet, she leapt towards him and, as if in slow motion, just before she reached him, she pulled back her right fist.

Snikt!

Three bone claws erupted from her hand, heading straight for the left of his torso, but the pain of the claws erupting had caused something to click in her mind. Mid-air she transformed from Logan back to herself, but she couldn't stop what she was about to do. Both their eyes grew wide as the three claws plunged deep into his chest and through his heart.

Her body crashed into his driving the claws deeper and knocking them both in to the tree behind him. Their bodies slumped down the tree, which had three long fresh scratches running down the bark behind Logan's back. It took her a moment to realise what had happened, she didn't process that the claws were still in his chest until she realised he wasn't breathing. She had to pull the claws out.

Unskikt!

His body convulsed a scream that his voice would not permit at the feel of her retracting her claws. The wounds on her hand closed up immediately without effort and she fell back on her rear and hands and scattered back from him, away from what she had done. She was frozen, her chest heaving up and down as she stared at him, but a choked cough from him shocked her into action and she realised she had to stop the bleeding. He was still propped up against the tree but she dared not move him. She ripped the midriff of her shirt to have something to soak up the blood from his chest. She hesitated putting it in place when she realised she wasn't wearing any gloves, but realised that his shirt covered him enough, only three bleeding puncture marks were exposed, and proceeded to apply pressure against the open and bleeding wound.

"It's okay. You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be..." She saw more blood trickle down the tree from behind his back, the exit wound of the claws. She wondered why his healing factor hadn't kicked in yet but then her mind flashed back to seconds before; she had drained him of most of energy, including his ability to heal. "Oh man, you're gonna die!"

Logan coughed again, this time clearer and was able to take in a lungful of air after although his eyes were still closed.

"Thanks for the pep talk, kid..." He coughed out. She looked a little more hopeful of the situation. She had stabbed him in the heart, through and through, but his healing factor was already clearing his lungs of the blood and repairing the damage. She had no idea where they were, or where her gloves were. She saw he was still wearing his and, with one hand, she carefully pulled off his right one, while keeping pressure on his wound. She managed to put the glove on her own right hand, and kept using her left to apply pressure. She twisted his body to his side slightly to examine his back, using her knee to keep him angled as she explore the exit wound with her gloved hand.

The bleeding was slowing and his breathing was less laboured. She hadn't drained him as much she thought she had. She rolled him gently back against the tree and knelt to his side still pressing firmly on his chest. She tried remembering the rest of what had happened while she was Mystique. She flinched at every strike and blow she relived inflicting. She closed her eyes remembering her final effort and squeezed them further shut until she felt gloved fingers closed around her left wrist. Her eyes opened as Logan squeezed her wrist, reassuringly. She let go of the makeshift dressing and let it fall to see reforming tissue underneath which she couldn't take her eyes off.

"Ah'm sorry, Logan, I can't believe that Ah lost control like tha-" Logan moved to stand up, her eyes snapped away from the wound and directly to his in shock. "What're you doin'?!" She shouted at him, all apologetic tones forgotten, momentarily.

"Gettin' up, what's it look like?" He fired back, before she pushed him back against the tree by his shoulders and held him there looking him straight in the eyes.

"Ah just drained you and stabbed you through the heart, ya big Yahoo! Rest up for a minute!" Rogue shouted at him, a bit of tough love. Logan wasn't sure if that was him talking or her. He simply growled in response.

oOo

A high-rise apartment in downtown Manhattan was home to another person who had so far evaded sleep this night. He owned the penthouse in the tall sky-scrapper, only the best for him. It was decked out in the most expensive pieces of entertainment technology and art work, not the most important pieces in art history and certainly nothing that reflected any characteristics of the owner save one. They were bought because they were the most expensive and because of their perceived prestige. In truth, he had far more precious illustrations occupying his attention.

The jacket of his tailored Armani suit was thrown haphazardly across some unsuspecting furniture. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he stared at the collection of schematics. He had one set to the side, already adapted for him to take advantage of for his company. In truth, he cared less and less about those drawings, despite the ridiculous amounts of cash he paid that thief for them. It was the others that he paid extra for that had him enthralled. He could see what some of these things might do, but the most interesting ones were incomplete and he is a software expert, not hardware.

He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to the elbow, and stomped over to his fairly well stocked mini-bar. He reached for the scotch only to find an empty bottle. He contemplated the bottle for a moment before sending it flying through the air and in to the mantelpiece, shattering it to pieces. Harrison, his bodyguard flung over the door and looked in. He was a striking contrast to his boss. He was a large burly man with hard eyes and tanned skin, whereas his boss was petit and pale. Seeing the scattered fragments of glass on the floor he instantly relaxed his stance.

"Get Ms. Dion." His boss ordered. He nodded and pulled out the door. Moments later, Ms. Dion walked in to the room. She was older than her employer, but that wouldn't be hard. She was in her thirties and very attractive, dominating any scene by her tall statuesque presence and elevated rank from the collection of designer business suits she always wore with her neatly pulled back blonde hair. She was his Executive Assistant, although most saw her as glorified secretary, but she knew she was important, and always placed herself in positions near power. She saw the glass on the floor immediately.

"Out of Scotch again are we?" She said nonchalantly as she sauntered into the room. She walked over to his desk, the schematics splayed out catching her attention. "New product line, Mr. Torque?"

He rushed over to the drawing table and blocked her view of them like a child trying to hide a broken vase from his parents. He was getting agitated.

"That's none of your business!" He spat and redirected her attention. "Get someone to clean up this mess... And get me some more of that stuff!" He demanded.

"Glenfiddich?" She inquired with mock innocence.

"Yeah, I only drink the best!" He sounded so much like a child, petulant and indignant.

"Yes, sir." She turned on her heels to leave, smiling to herself. He wouldn't know the difference between Glenfiddich and Gin if it wasn't for the colour, not that he was old enough to buy either. But those plans she saw, they were the reason she has been putting up with him, and they would be worth it. She knew more about them than he could possibly imagine, but she already knew that they were incomplete. No matter, she had someone working on getting the information they would require. All she had to do was make sure her 'boss' didn't screw up and to give him a push in the right direction to make sure.

oOo

The moon was slightly higher in the night sky now, illuminating the scene a bit better. The scene, however, would have very much liked to not draw attention to itself at the moment. He was still propped up against the base of the scarred tree. He watched her, sitting there a few feet away from him cross-legged, playing with a few blades of grass in front of her. Neither had said anything in a few minutes, which felt like hours. Rogue was finding the blades of grass worthy of her full attention, whereas Logan was finding her antics worthy of his full attention. He watched as she twisted the blades and stalks around her ungloved fingers and then straightened them and played with another, never picking them from the ground. She glanced up through her stray strands of white hair, catching him staring. He noticed and looked up to her face with a question etched on his. She knew what he was wondering. She brought her attention back to the grass.

"Why kill 'em just 'cause I can?" She shrugged at the grass before adding under her breath, "I do enough damage without tryin'." Logan heard her additional comment, but pretended not to. He wanted to change the subject as the last thing she needed right now was to wallow in self-pity.

"So, am I allowed to get up now?" He asked for permission mockingly as leaning forward. Rogue sprang to her feet and dusted herself down and went to help him up.

She hesitated, first checking which hand was gloved and offered her right hand to him, bracing herself for the load as he took it. Rogue pulled a little too hard, expecting him to be heavier, and he pushed himself up with a little too much strength, expecting her to be weaker. The resultant was a little stagger backwards for Rogue, and a stumble forwards for him. He caught her with his gloved left arm around her waist to steady them. As soon as they were stable, she jumped backwards from the accidental embrace, not at all comfortable with it given the amount of exposed skin.

"S-sorry!" She stuttered, hugging herself around her exposed midriff, not out of shyness but because she was afraid of her own skin. She already did enough damage for one night. Logan saw the reasons behind her reaction loud and clear. He cleared his throat.

"Come on, let's get back to our bikes." He held out a hand for her to take, so he could guide them back to the water's edge in the dark more efficiently. She took it obediently and rather numbly. He started moving after a moment's hesitation when he nearly expected her to simply teleport them there with ease. He guided them back to where it all started after a few minutes, in which he had time to realise that she was afraid to use any powers after this incident. She went for her jacket as soon as she recognised where she was and let go of Logan's hand.

"Where are you going?" He asked her. She turned around, confused.

"Ah thought we were headin' back?" She answered his question with a question of her own. He shook his head.

"We're not going anywhere 'til you've got Mystique's powers down." She looked at him, her face showing utter shock mixed with terror and her mind reeling from these emotions whilst wondering if he had got completely insane.

"What! Are you crazy! Ah nearly killed you!" She shouted at him, hoping that would be the end of the discussion.

"You need to be in control of her, Rogue, and you can't let this one incident set you back." She averted her eyes from him. He sighed as he decided to go for the low blow to get her attention. "I can't let you go back to the Institute if you can't control her, Rogue." Her eyes snapped up to his and he hated to use that against her, but he hated more that she readily accepted that she was a danger and slowly moved back to her original spot to try again.

oOo

On the other side of the Earth, deep underground in a metal chamber, one of the world's most powerful mutants was walking on his own. No lackeys, no minions. He was deep in thought, trying to figure out what to do next. The large metallic corridors echoed his footsteps back to him, the only sound of company in this place and the only thing that kept him from getting completely lost in his own mind.

He aimed for the largest room in this construction, which housed his most precise items. He reached the entrance to the room, which he had sealed so that no one could get in but him. He raised his hand to the solid wall of metal. The wall flexed and buckled and soon ripped open from the centre outwards. He levitated himself from the ground and through the mutant-made entrance. The selp-proclaimed 'Master of Magnetism' looked around the room.

His collection had grown considerably over the last few months. At every opportunity he acquired more and more items related to his quest from the government and brought them here. He was an intelligent man, and he studied each and every piece carefully trying to get it to reveal its secrets to him to little or no avail. It had become an obsession, but he had to know. The power was too great for him only to get a taste of it.

He set himself down on the ground and walked over to where he kept the most important items in his collection. In their own large and sealed glass tube, displayed on a life size mannequin, were the derma chips that fell off him when Apocalypse was defeated. The chips that made Magneto into a horseman and near invincible.

**End of Chapter 14**

A.N. Hmmm, the plot thickens... I hope! Please review, thank you much! RR


	15. Chapter 15

**A.N. A hundred thousand apologies for not updating sooner, tá bron orm! Was up the country again having many mini adventures with my housemates! But here is another chapter for your reading pleasure! Hope ye all like it! Please R&R, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 15**

The sun was barely creeping over the horizon as the jet flew straight towards the waterfall, bold and determined, not showing any signs of pulling up. The hidden hanger revealed its doors, parting the water. The X-jet flew in faster than necessary. There was no time to waste; they had a mutant on board that required immediate medical attention. Ironically, it was the one mutant (or rather one of a few rare mutants) that no one would have expected to ever need medical attention. But during their brief journey, Hank had become increasingly concerned for her well-being.

Scott and Ororo piloted the jet as Hank took care of their patient, with the assistance of Mr. Wagner. The injuries could not have been more than fifteen minutes old and were a collection of burns of varying degrees and type all over her body. Hank noticed that her healing factor hadn't kicked in as fast usual, but he became even more aware of how badly it was performing once they had her on the jet. He had set her down on one of the foldout gurneys in the mid-section of the plane. He decided to clean and covered the exposed burns as best as he could, then hopefully her healing factor would cure them completely. Despite her weak protests, he convinced her to wear an Oxygen mask.

Securing the mask he once again noticed the chemical burns around her mouth, suggesting she had inhaled something she should have. There were minute traces of a powder in her hair, which he suspected was the suspect chemical. He combed a sample into a paper pouch to analyse when they land. Given the peculiarity of her healing, he thought that the substance may hold some answers.

They landed swiftly. Hank had Kurt help him with the gurney and teleport him and X-23 directly to the medical bay. Once she was on a bed, Kurt was sent out for extra gauze, while Hank was working with what was in the room. Every time he touched a burn she flinched visibly but said nothing. He looked at her face and saw focussed determination, concentrating on a spot on the ceiling.

"I can give you something for the pain." He looked back at the particular wound he was dressing. She clenched and unclenched her jaw, fully conscious now though quite hoarse.

"I can handle it." She responded through gritted teeth.

"You shouldn't have to." He replied seriously, causing her to look him in the eyes briefly before resume her study of the ceiling.

"Healing factor would cancel it out, and I prefer to be lucid." She finally said back to him, mechanically, without warmth.

"Your healing factor would cancel it out eventually, but it seems to have been slowed down a great deal. It could give you some relief, and I won't give you enough to knock you out." He continued dressing the wounds, noticing the two puncture marks on each fist were still open and bleeding. He said nothing and proceeded to dress them without a comment referencing them. "Of course, I won't give them to you without your consent." She growled at his comment, suggesting the consequences for him even thinking of doping her without consent, but with the growl came the claws.

Snikt!

Her claws of the hand nearest to him ripped through their fresh bandages and caused her more pain than usual. She clamped her eyes shut, but was not able to contain a single tear from the corner of her eye, down her temple, disappearing into her hair. A pale line through the thin layer of soot on her skin was all the evidence it left behind.

Un-snikt!

The Beast had jumped back at the claws, but approached when she retracted them again. He saw the tear. She was used to a lot of physical pain, but it always healed quickly from whatever injury so it was short-lived.

"You have third degree burns here and at this rate, it will be hours before they're healed..." If left the question implied and hanging in the air between them. After a moment, she nodded. Hank reached for a pre-loaded syringe of morphine and an alcohol wipe to administer the relief, grateful that Kurt or Jean had not come in at that moment. If they had, she probably would not have agreed. As soon as he had her somewhat comfortable, he would analyse the powder he found.

oOo

Down the corridor, Ororo was filling in the Professor on the details of the attack while escorting him to the room in the medical bay housing their patient.

"...What's more, the footprints in the grass were of different sizes, although all men's sizes, and of the same style." Ororo informed him, letting him draw the same conclusion as they did.

"Uniformed soldiers?" He looked up at her, asking if he was correct.

"Uniformed, perhaps. Soldiers, perhaps not." His eyebrows asked for more on her thoughts. "They could be a government funded organisation, or just a privately funded one. I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy people out there that would arrange for such a team." She paused. "Do you think they were after X-23?"

"It's possible, but I was under the impression that such organisations believed her dead." He hesitated, thinking on it some more. If it was someone like S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra, it was a sloppy move, suggesting that it was some other group or that they were targeting the other mutant and were surprised by X-23's presence, or a bit of both. Jean came out of the room they were aiming for as Xavier and Ororo had reached it. "Perhaps, Laura can enlighten us?"

"I think Mr. McCoy is just finished with her, Professor." Jean told him, as she was getting more supplies to restock what they had just used.

"How is she doing, Jean?" Xavier enquired after their patient's health.

"Something is very wrong with her healing factor, and those burns are really bad but Hank convinced her to take something for the pain." The Professor noticed that Jean wished to add a little more to what she had just told him.

"Was there something else, Jean?" He gave her the opening to add what she had left out. She held the first aid packages closer to her chest.

"She's wondering where Logan is?" She admitted honestly and empathically.

"Did she say that?" The Professor already knew why she was reluctant at first, knowing the answer to his question.

"No, Professor." She confessed, but was quick to defend her case. "She was projecting it pretty loudly. Well, loudly for her, if Logan's anything to go by. You'll see what I mean; I think it has something to do with the drugs Mr. McCoy gave her."

"It's alright, Jean." Xavier stopped her ramblings. "I can hear her from here." Jean nodded and went to finish her restocking. Ororo turned to Xavier.

"Do you know where he is, Charles?" Xavier closed his eyes for a fraction of a second before opening them again.

"He's just coming down the driveway now." He informed her.

"I'll go to meet him." She decided, turning to head upstairs.

"Thank you, Ororo." Charles said with a nod before entering the patient's room. Jean decided to stay in the room, however Hank nodded to Xavier and left to analyse the powder he had found, but Xavier's eyes immediately met with Laura's.

"Hello Laura, we've met _briefly_ before. My name is Professor Xavier." He introduced himself politely, sensing that this girl already hated the amount attention she was getting due to her injuries. She wanted to be seen as tough, feared even. These people were looking upon her like and injured puppy. She hated it. Such strong emotions, Charles knew exactly what Jean was talking about. But there was nothing in the way of these thoughts as Charles would have expected, basing his theories on the Wolverine. He attributed that to the fact that although she had had a troubled life, Laura had all her memories intact. "Would you like to tell us what happened?"

oOo

Logan placed his helmet on to the back of his motorcycle just after he pulled into the garage. Rogue had pulled up her motorcycle a bit away from Logan's and quickly dismounted and headed upstairs silently as the garage doors shut behind them plunging him into darkness. He could feel the resentment and anger radiating off her but he knew it was only temporary. She had wanted to quit, but he had made her stay out all night working on Mystique's powers until she made them her own. It had worked, however. By dawn she was able to connect, fully in control. Not just that, but like the other powers he had seen her try out, she was able to take Mystique's abilities to a new level. She was able to morph herself into anyone and anything, but also into many things. The last trick she tried, she jumped into the air and just before she hit the ground, her body broke into a dozen bats. They scattered around and for a moment, he was worried that he pushed her too hard and that he would not be able to 'pull herself together' again, but all the bats made a group decision to reform and turn back into the Rogue she was. He had never seen anything like it before. Well, that wasn't true. He had seen it, once.

"Wolverine?" He snapped out of his train of thought at the voice of Ororo Munroe, calling into the shadows of the garage in search of Logan.

"Here, 'Ro!" He shouted back emerging from the shadows approaching the door. Immediately he sensed that something was wrong. "What's happened?"

"There was an incident upstate. We couldn't contact you." It was said as a statement but meant as a question. The Wind Rider never appreciated people neglecting their responsibilities. Logan chose to ignore it, letting her believe that he was ignorant and didn't get her subtlety. She sighed. "We are all back now, but..." Her voice grew softer, "We found Laura. She's here."

"'You _found_ her'?" He knew that if Laura did not want to be found, she wouldn't be.

"She was hurt; we brought her here for medical attention." Logan clenched and unclenched his jaw before responding.

"Where is she now?" Logan asked expecting Storm to tell him she had run off again.

"She's still in the medical bay, Logan." His eyes widened. "Something is inhibiting her healing factor." She did not have a chance to tell him anything else before he set off in a run for the medical bay.

oOo

Rogue walked straight to her room. The last few days were tough, she needed to sleep. Thankfully, when she concentrated, Logan's healing factor kept her from getting too tired and kept her immune system strong. But illness due to sleep deprivation was the last thing she was worried about taking over.

She got to her door, just as she heard most of the others begin to stir to the new day. She struggled to keep her eyes open and entered her room, swinging the door closed behind her. She peeled off her biker jacket, feeling the workout that her muscles had gotten slowly fade to a dull ache as the healing factor kicked in. The jacket fell to the floor and she removed her gloves, when a knock was heard at her door. The good thing about her personality and dress sense, and the fact that she was still considered a teenager, no one was going to expect you to answer the door at this hour of the morning with anything but annoyance. She let them knock again before walking over and yanking the door open.

"What?!" She shouted at her perhaps undeserving visitor who was a little taken aback by her reaction.

"'S nice to see you too, Cheri!" Gambit replied indignantly with raised eyebrows, but then took in her appearance as she took in his, dressed in normal everyday clothes. He switched on his charm, looking her up and down. "All of you, in fact..." He added appreciatively. Rogue looked down and suddenly remembered that she had ripped the midriff off her top last night as an improvisation in her first-aid treatment of Logan's shredded chest. Coupled with her bare hands and arms, it was a lot more skin than she was comfortable showing.

He was still staring, which really annoyed her, so she did the first thing that popped into her head. She slammed the door in his face.

oOo

Kitty heard a door slam down the corridor but was too tired to care, let alone see a disappointed but grinning Cajun walk past her on her way to her room. She did, however, notice when someone rounded the corner and nearly walked right into/through her.

"Kurt!" She said in annoyance, immediately recognising the blue fur as none other than that of the fuzzy elf.

"Oh... Sorry, Kitty! I was just valking to my room, it's been a long night you know." He said rubbing his eyes.

"Why didn't you just, like, 'port to your room, or whatever?" It was then that she noticed the slight turquoise tinge to his normally indigo-blue fur. "That bad in the med bay?" She asked, guessing exactly what had made him greenish.

"Ja, it's put me off barbeques for life!" With that declaration he grabbed his stomach in one hand and his mouth in the other and ran into his room. Kitty cringed at the bad reference which lacked tact, as well as being, like, totally ick-some, and phased quietly through her door for some much needed sleep.

oOo

Xavier departed from the room, leaving Laura in Jean's care just as Logan arrived followed shortly by Ororo.

"Where is she, Chuck?" Logan demanded rather than asked.

"She's just inside Logan. I'm sure she'll be alright." Charles tried to reassure him as he brushed past going straight into the room. Ororo looked to Charles for what he had discovered.

"Let's join Hank first." He asked her, picking up on her question. They silently made their way to the medical laboratory, until a crash was heard on the other side of the door. Ororo and Xavier's eyes met in shock as she rushed forward through the door to find out what had happened only to narrowly escaped a flung glass beaker that shattered off the wall behind her. Hank, it seemed, was out of control.

"Hank, control yourself!" Storm ordered in her commanding voice, electricity sizzling in the air to accentuate the point. Hank calmed down visibly but was still seething underneath and found the target for his anger. He rounded on Xavier, controlling himself enough to not physically hurt him.

"You're a fool!" Storm was stunned into silence at Hank's mutinous tone.

"In what way, Hank?" Xavier calmly talked to his friend like a cool and collected hostage negotiator.

"You're a trusting fool! The owner of Spear Sports, you said that he would cease production!" The Beast accused him, challenging him to contradict his statement.

"I believed him to be sincere in his..." Beast interrupted him.

"You believed?! Did you even use your telepathy to check?!" Hank shouted, even getting Ororo to drop her charging of the air in waiting to hear the Professor's response.

"Charles?" Ororo asked quietly, encouraging him to answer the way she'd hoped he'd answer. He did not know why Hank was asking him about this all of a sudden, but he could feel the anger and panic radiating off Hank. Without trying to read his mind, he knew his grave error and hung his head in shame.

"I did not..." He finally answered quietly.

"No..." Ororo whispered in disbelief. She looked to Hank for answers.

"The powder I found on Laura is an exact match to the muta-toxin we found in 'Power8', only much more concentrated." Hank's anger simmered now as he explained. "Clearly, it's being reproduced to be used as a weapon." Hank said looking straight in to the eyes of Xavier, telling him just how big a mistake he had made. Little did Hank know; he had also made a mistake that night.

oOo

"We were unable to acquire the said mutant in a suitable condition." A large man dressed head to toe in camouflage informed a young man in a Gucci suit as they entered an elevator and programmed it to take them to the lower levels.

"Suitable condition?! She and six of your men are little more than charcoal!" Mr. Spears shouted at him like he was a complete imbecile. "She was a level two mutant! What happened?!" He demanded to know what had thrown them so badly, challenging him to justify his screw-up as they arrived at their selected floor, and walked out into a clean, white walled corridor.

"There was another mutant there, at least a level three." He quickly explained. "Highly trained, my men were... Ill equipped to handle him." The soldier fibbed to save his dignity as they approached the fourth door on the left. "I had ordered a retreat to cut our losses, when Richardson threw that stuff you gave us but he got himself and Peters with the muties. It killed 'em all." He swiped in his identity card and punched in the security code to the keyboard that folded out from the door.

"Clearly it didn't 'kill 'em all', if the other mutant is still unaccounted for." He argued back at him, showing no signs of intimidation due to the other man's size and training, he was simply an employee. He sighed in frustration waiting for the damn door to open. "Did you at least get the others?" His 'employee' nodded as he pushed open the door to reveal a room that had three white holding cells, moderately comfortable but none of it mattered to the three terrified people they contained. Mr. Spears looked to the other man in question as to how he secured them.

"The clean-up crew brought them here to 'give their statements'." He answered his questioning gaze. The soldier showed off his catch to his employer, feeling no remorse that they were all non-mutants, despite not having any idea what was in store for them.

oOo

Logan entered her room quickly but quietly, immediately the smell of burnt flesh and disinfectant hit him. He took in her bandaged appearance and met her eyes, his eyes, looking back to him. He couldn't tell what she was feeling; she was too good at hiding her emotions.

"You should've healed by now." He lightened the mood by reminding her of what she had said to him not so long ago. The humour from the older man and the irony was not lost on her.

"Give me a break, old man, I started the morning by crawling out of a burning building." She answered still a little hoarse. She had attempted echoing his humour but the sound of her voice brought a more serious tone to Logan as he moved closer to the edge of her bed. She looked up at him, wondering why he looked so sad all of a sudden. "You did know that I wasn't dead, didn't you?" Logan nodded.

"I caught you're scent on the wind after the explosion." He replied with a proud smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth from her risky move in taking down Hydra, but it faded fast when he saw the two bloodstains on her knuckles seeping through the bandages. "What happened?" He asked in reference to tonight's incident. She sat herself up in the bed, having slowly recovered enough energy to accomplish that small feat.

"A nice person was being attacked, I tried to stop it." She shrugged. Logan looked at her, expecting there to be more. She looked at him in annoyance. "What?" She demanded.

"That's it?" He asked sceptically, which annoyed her even more.

"Look, that telepath already saw everything firsthand, so go ask him and leave me alone!" She yelled at him, turning her head sharply away from him but unable to go anywhere to make her point more dramatic. Logan didn't know what had set that off, but her choice of words was what he focussed on.

"What happened to the person?" He asked, trying for soft but it came out more of an interrogation. Being of a similar gruff personality herself she responded to him.

"She died..." She whispered, still facing away from him. She elaborated a little more. "That powder," she explained, "I didn't recognise the scent but it was strong." Logan contemplated the situation.

"Is that what's messing with your healing factor?" He asked, to which she slowly nodded having come to the same conclusion. Another thing she said occurred to him as odd. "Chuck could read your mind?" This caused her to look bad at him.

"Yeah, why?" She asked with a furrowed brow. He paused before responding.

"It's nothing." He dismissed it quickly and took the seat next to her bed. She looked at him strangely, wondering why he asked that and also why he was making himself comfortable. Why would he want to stay here? "You should get some sleep, kid. I'll be right here." She looked at him oddly for another moment before lying back down in the bed, deciding to sleep and heal.

oOo

Monsieur LeBeau wandered down the corridor gravitating towards the welcoming smell of food and soon found himself opening the door to the kitchen. He saw Piotr and Forge talking over by the window next to the coffee. It seemed they were discussing Piotr's transforming skin in comparison to Forge's transforming arm. He walked into the room with confidence ignoring the stares he got from all the X-kids who apparently had not been informed of this particular addition. Roberto, who was sitting at the table, turned to Amara, Rahne and Sam who were sitting near to him.

"What? Did the Prof take out an ad in the paper or something?" He whispered to them, his voice travelling as far as Gambit who ignored the petty comment, but Rahne thought she'd have a dig at Sunspot's ever growing ego.

"Yes, Roberto. It read: 'Real men wanted for the X-men team due to current low stock in-house'." She said smartly in her sweet and innocent Scottish accent before rising from the table for more tea leaving an ever blushing Sunspot in her wake.

Gambit smirked but his presence was soon noticed by Forge who immediately tried to include him in the conversation mistaking him a Piotr as friends.

"Gambit, isn't it? I was just talking to your pal Piotr here about our abilities." He gestured in said Russian's direction. "What is it that you do and how do you do it?" Forge enquired with enthusiasm, not realising how intrusive he was being. Gambit was never one to offer up so much of himself to strangers.

"Many things, mon cher, and well." He answered cryptically, but he was saved from further pestering by the volume rising on the TV that had been muted in the corner of the room. The news was on showing fire fighters walking over the burnt grounds of a still smoking house. Rahne had the remote pointed at the screen, amplifying the female newscaster's voice.

"_... Fire was started early this morning from causes yet to be determined, however, allegedly, the local fire marshal has already assessed the incident as accidental. Fortunately, the building had been vacated for several months and no one was harmed. In other news..."_

**End of Chapter 15**

A.N. Hmmm, well if you didn't like the wait for this chapter you won't like the wait for the next chapter... I'm off on me holiers for a few days, back Saturday week so will hopefully get the next chapter out that weekend. Please R&R!


	16. Chapter 16

**A.N. I'm back! Did ya miss me?! Well here's the next bit! R&R, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 16**

"_... Fire was started early this morning from causes yet to be determined, however, allegedly, the local fire marshal has already assessed the incident as accidental. Fortunately, the building had been vacated for several months and no one was harmed. In other news..."__ - _Click!

The screen blacked out as the red-headed woman turned it off using her mutant ability of telekinesis on that particular monitor. She stood behind her boyfriend who was seated before the main console. She could feel the muscles in his shoulders tense and squeezed them affectionately and reassuringly in response as he tore his rose-quartz shaded gaze away from the darkened screen. She exhaled as she absentmindedly rubbed his shoulders, processing all of the information she had gathered over the last hour. Her mentor wheeled into the multimedia conference room through the door behind her followed by Hank and Ororo. Scott swivelled around as Jean turned to face them.

"Professor, we have a problem." Scott informed the older man.

"We have a few..." Beast remarked quietly in Charles' direction. Jean frowned in confusion but picked up the information loud and clear from Hank. Part of her felt sympathy for Xavier and she let it show on her face, but another part of her, volatile and easy to ignite lately, was furious. But she hid it well.

Scott typed briefly on the console to bring up the news clip for the others. While watching it, Hank's remaining anger transformed to shame. Something had happened to those other people in the house after they left and it was his fault. He left them there, assuming that the fact they were humans that they would be fine. All the prejudices against him for being a mutant, and it never occurred to him that ordinary folk would have been in danger too. What chance do mutants have to co-exist when even he, who preaches tolerance and equality, let himself fall into the 'Us and Them' way of thinking? Hank wasn't aware that Ororo, who was standing beside him and watching the same footage, was blaming herself too. The silence was deafening after having watched it, Charles was the first to speak.

"Scott, Ororo, take a team to track down a Mr. Spears from 'Spear Sports'. It seems that the powder Hank discovered on Laura was one of his creations. Jean and I will guide you from here using Cerebro." Xavier ordered while Hank snapped out of his moment of self-pity.

"What about the others?" He asked Charles, forgetting his anger with the man a moment ago and restored him to his former glory as the man with all the answers, as someone who could give him his much needed hope. "We can't just leave them wherever they are, we have to find them!" He demanded.

"The only clue that we have of them is this Mr. Spears, Hank." Ororo informed him, seeing the Professor's logic. Her voice was full of remorse and feeling for these poor souls that they abandoned.

"Then I'll go back to Rochester and see what else I can find there." Hank tried weakly.

"That's good of you to volunteer, Hank, but you are needed here. Laura is still in a fragile state and we have no idea of the extent of the effects that this powder may have on her yet." Xavier calmly explained to him before Jean piped up.

"Professor, I could look after Laura or go to Rochester in Hank's place." Jean offered. Hank nodded in agreement to the idea as Xavier shook his head slowly.

"Both of you are needed here." He stated with finality before turning his attention to Ororo and Scott. "Take who you need." He ended their discussion and turned his chair about to head for Cerebro to track down the whereabouts of Mr. Spears. Hank turned and headed for the medical bay to check on his patient as Ororo exited to recruit some muscle for their little operation. Scott stood from the console and faced Jean. She looked annoyed. He reached for one of her hands and held it between his, warming it.

"Hey, I'm sure the Professor has his reasons." He said to her trying his best to catch her eyes behind his shades, getting her to look at him instead of the floor. She slowly nodded before looking at him.

"You better go." She sighed. "Storm will be waiting." He gave a nod of his head then leaned over to kiss her quickly before disappearing from the room in the same direction as Ororo.

Jean stood there, warmed hand dropped by her side, the other resting on the back of the chair alone in the empty room. Xavier didn't tell her what he needed her for, nor did it seem likely he would tell her. Looking back at his recent string of decisions concerning her, she realised he seemed more and more determined to keep her near-by.

"_**Keep you on a leash is more like it..."**_ The dark recesses of her mind informed her, corrupting her image of her sainted mentor. She rubbed her temple with one hand and started depending on the chair to support her weight with the other. Jean refused to believe that. Why would the Professor do that? He's the most powerful telepath in the world.

"_**Clearly he doesn't think that..."**_The dark voice offered annoyingly interrupting herself. She shrugged off the comment as normal paranoia. _**"Stop looking at him like an idol and see him for what he really is." **_The voice hissed and grew louder in her head, causing her heart to race, not knowing what was happening to her. She fell to her knees now clutching her head in both hands as the chair rattled violently next to her and all the screens flickered at random. _**"He's a coward, hiding behind all of you and controlling you like PAWNS!"**_

"Jean?" A new voice alerted her to someone's presence as she sent the chair flying in his direction before she knew what she was doing. The chair exploded suddenly into smithereens in a bright red flash. Jean rose from the floor as the smoke and debris settled, like Jean's mind, allowing her to recognise who she nearly crushed.

"Alex?" She identified Scott's younger brother and rushed to his side. "Alex! Oh God, I'm sorry! Are you okay?!" She dusted him down and checked him for injuries before he could reply.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He responded and looked around at the pieces of furniture scattered around the room. "Sorry about the chair, I'll help clean all that up." She waved off his comment about the chair and went back to fussing over him.

"I'm sorry, Alex, I guess you startled me!" Jean suggested weakly, having no other sane-sounding way for explain what had just happened.

"Yeah, I should have learned by now that surprising people can be seriously hazardous to your health around here. Good thing I've got mad reflexes!" Alex joked, trying to get her to stop worrying about him. "I was just looking for Scott, and then I thought I heard you and figured you'd know where he was?" He explained his reasons for being there, clearly not thinking anything strange of Jean's powers. Not much was considered unusual in the Institute he had recently accepted.

"Oh, Scott's been sent on a mission with Storm and a few of the others." Jean noticed his shoulders slump slightly in disappoint. She quickly supplied further information. "But if you hurry you might still catch him before they leave." She offered. Alex smiled and regained his happy-go-lucky composure.

"No problem! I thought if he was free we could do some more training this morning, but there's nothing stopping me from doing it myself." He replied to a vacant Jean. She pondered, clearly distracted by something he had said. He looked at her as she stared into space.

"O-kay, I'll catch you later then!" He ended their little chat awkwardly and left her staring vacantly into where he was standing only a moment ago.

"_**Nothing stopping you either..."**_ The voice whispered to her.

oOo

_This girl was hard to understand, no matter how similar their nature was.__ Following her through the thick woods, she jumped fallen logs with the same lightness of foot despite the Adamantium, and landed without a sound, even to their delicate and sensitive hearing. She growled the same and had the same gruff attitude in a fight. She was a born scrapper, with or without the tortured upbringing. She wasn't afraid of a real gambit and had the same glint in her eye when she was about to turn the tables or carryout a risky move. _

_But she was only a child, how could anyone not feel protective of her. No one should have suffered the life she had. When they were discovered, everyone knew they would heal but the protective instinct kicked in anyway. Just because she could heal, she shouldn't have to get hurt. Something exploded near them, she was going to take the blast but the parental nature took over to shield her from it before they were captured. She was taken away and when they met up again later Omega Red provided a big enough distraction to let her get away again to fulfil her plan._

_Falling from the height, watching her climb the Hydra ship was more painful than the fast approaching ground. Between then and catching her scent on the wind was the worst..._

"_**He's a coward, hiding behind all of you and controlling you like PAWNS!"**__ A dark voice suddenly intervened and then disappeared just as quickly..._

_Snikt! Snikt!_

_She __landed in front of the window and sliced through the taser wires extending from the gun to the girl. She had the good sense to stay down as she sliced her way through the intruders. She heard two other people come down the stairs; they were bare foot and stayed out of the way, so they were of no concern. She could see and hear two more of the intruders filing into the room from outside. She slashed vertically through the back of one of the intruders and heard him drop a heavy container; the smell of gasoline filled the air. She heard one of the girl's friends squeal briefly. Laura looked around to see that the she was okay, just freaked when the girl caught her. But the break in concentration earned her a blow to the jaw and a deep jab to the stomach with a blunt object._

"_What's happening?!" She heard her cry to the nice girl, as she fell to the ground and heard the others run up the staircase._

"_I think they're after the mutant." She cried back, sobs catching her voice. Laura sprang back to her feet to slice through body armour into chest of two of the intruders with the two claws on her left hand each, finishing them off with a swipe of her right hand claws across their throats._

"_You mean, you?!" She heard the other girl again, in a panicked voice as something came down and cracked heavily on her skull causing her to miss a bit of the background conversation._

"_Jan, who did you tell?!"__ She heard the nice girl demand of her friend. Laura received a kick to the stomach and left leg feeling a knee pop, but sliced through the leg on its next approach to her right knee inflicting plenty of gratifying pain to her attacker._

"_I'm sorry, Ess, I didn't mean to!" 'Jan' choked out in the background as she stood feeling her knee heal and finished off the man. Laura gathered the gist and realised 'Ess' was the target. She heard 'Jan' safely climb the staircase, but heard 'Ess' run towards the fight. Was she insane? She was no match for them and sure enough, all it took was for one stray punch to take her out. Three of the attackers retreated outside._

"_Let's go, she wasn't in the brief!" The troop leader shouted to the other two still inside. She growled and swiped at one of the intruders. He flung a plastic pouch of some powder at her._

"_Eat this, mutie!" He shouted as his companion who just lit a flare objected._

_She__ swiped at it instinctively causing the contents to disperse over everyone as the flare set alight to the gasoline. She felt her skin burning and her clothes melting just like when she blew up Hydra. But she knew she would walk away from Hydra. Although the pain from the fire was familiar, this time was different. _

_She received the highest dose of the chemical. __The powder was thrown over her skin and coated her lungs and mouth. She couldn't breathe and for the first time she could feel her mortality. She fell to the floor and could faintly hear the others talking outside. She crawled through the agonising flames towards the far wall to where she thought 'Ess' had fallen. Her lungs were burning for air, and tears came to her eyes unbidden as they widened in fear. There was not much of her skin left on her elbows as she crawled on exposed bone. She felt around for the other girl as best she could but most of her nerves had been scorched and all she could feel was pain. She could not see or hear her. She was about to lose consciousness and had to get air. She felt the burning wall in front of her with her claws. This was it. She had to get through the wall. She tried to raise her arm but it would not move..._

She opened her eyes and instead of painful heat, the air was cool. She could breathe. As she inhaled and exhaled, she felt the air move around her face and felt the cold salty tears down her temples. The walls had changed around her from burning timber to cool muted tones illuminated by the soft daylight streaming through the window. She tried to sit up but she couldn't move her arms and continued to panic. Her body felt cold with sweat as her heart was racing. But as her surroundings started to look familiar, her cardiac rhythm started to slow to a normal rate from 'hummingbird'. She tried moving her arms again and realised that they were stuck but they were not tied down or restricted by anything. She was able to raise her head high enough from her pillow to see closed fists on both sides of her with palms facing upwards, seemingly unrestricted. She gave a strong tug upwards to free her hands that were weighted to the bed. Two bone claws on each hand ripped through the mattress, cutting through material and springs.

She looked at them like she was seeing them for the first time. She looked around the room once more through the white strands of hairs that fell over her face and started remembering herself.

Un-snikt! Un-snikt!

Rogue retracted her four protruding claws. She was so confused. She rubbed her temples with her now free hands. Why did she have X-23's memories? She only 'met' her once and never touched her. Her head became foggier as everything was fading to the background like a dream. But that dream... was Laura alive? Did she get out? Did it really happen? No, it happened, but when? She shook her head in an effort to clear it. She got up from her bed and proceeded to the shower, hoping the hot water would clear her head so she could figure things out.

She emerged from the shower a short while later none the wiser and quickly changed and left her room. She headed for the kitchen at first, but on her way she had a strange compulsion to head for the lower levels. She turned away from the kitchen as saw the access elevator that would bring her down. She could not explain why she felt the need to go this way but decided to just go with it. She stepped in and punched in the code for the lower levels and felt the elevator start to move with that feeling of temporary weightlessness. As it descended, she brought forth Logan's abilities to use his heightened senses to try and understand or at least get a clue as to what she was doing.

The machine completed its descent and beeped. The doors of the elevator opened, bringing her face to face with Jean Grey. The two women looked as startled as the other to see one another, ghosts around every corner these days.

"Oh! Hey, Jean." Rogue started, looking at Jean with a furrowed brow as if she was trying to remember something. Jean was avoiding her eyes so she never saw Rogue's confused and curious look.

"Hi, Rogue." Jean replied. They swapped places awkwardly as Rogue moved out of the elevator for Jean to step in. Rogue was about to say something but Jean broke the silence first. "I think Logan is still in the Medical Bay if you were looking for him." She offered, missing the widening of Rogue's eyes. Rogue tried to sound nonchalant with this information.

"Oh, yeah. That's why I'm down here... Thanks." Rogue bluffed before turning to head straight for said medical bay.

"Okay... See you later then?" Jean shrugged before pressing a button closing the elevator doors as Rogue's footsteps faded around the corner. Rogue quickened her step towards the medical bay once she heard the elevator doors close behind her. Using Logan's senses she could smell and hear the Beast working in his laboratory she walked past quietly and swiftly.

She couldn't think as to the reasons for Logan to be down in the Med Bay. Unless it was for the damage she had inflicted upon him the previous night. Her mind reeled back to the feeling of her bone claws stabbing the fabric and skin on his chest, between his ribs and puncturing intercostal muscles and lungs, cutting through a still beating heart. Maybe he had not healed as well as she thought? She stormed off on him this morning when all he did was help, like she had asked.

She entered the Medical wing and approached the only room that seemed to be occupied. Through the glass she saw Logan sitting in a chair watching over a ghost.

oOo

Logan was still sat in the same chair watching over Laura as she slept. Her healing factor had fought hard against the powder and burns over the last few hours and had won out. Hank had popped in once or twice to check on her progress and was astounded as always by the remarkable nature of Logan and Laura's shared mutation.

He was distracted from his thoughts when he felt a slight tingling sensation in his bones and joints. He looked up sharply for the cause, knowing only two people who can cause that effect. Logan saw Rogue through the glass partition, standing outside of the door, staring intently at Laura. She blinked a few times, apparently figuring something out before snapping out of her reverie to meet his questioning gaze with her own.

Logan slowly rose from the chair, careful not to make a sound that could disturb Laura and left the room to talk to Rogue just outside the door. Rogue stared up at him wide eyed and confused; only looking away from him to look back to Laura, the sleeping child in the bed. Logan sighed.

"Hank and Storm found her half charcoaled in Rochester during the night." Logan whispered to her in his low gravelly voice, aware of Laura's hearing abilities and not wanting to wake her. "She was hurt bad. Something was messing with her healing factor."

"That powder..." She whispered back to him, both astonished by her knowledge. Logan frowned at her.

"Did Beast...?" He started but Rogue cut him off.

"No... Ah..." She looked at Laura empathically through the glass, concern showing on her face. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Did the other girl die?" She asked Logan quietly, despite already knowing what the answer would be. She looked up at him when he didn't answer. He caught her eyes and shook his head briefly.

"Rogue...?" Logan implored her without words to explain what was going on, leaving her to fill in the gaps. She took in a shaky breath before answering.

"Ah saw what happened to her, Logan." She placed a gloved hand against the cool glass window and turned her attention back to the little girl in the bed. "Ah was only dreaming but Ah could swear Ah was Laura." Logan processed what she was saying.

"You were using telepathy while you slept?" He hypothesised, suggesting an answer that fit in with the scenario. If she was using some of her powers unconsciously then this was not good.

"That's what I thought when I saw her." She agreed with him. "But then I thought of all the people in the mansion..." She turned to him again. "Logan, she should have been one of the hardest for me read." She explained her thought process to him. He nodded.

"Chuck didn't seem to have a problem earlier." Logan looked away from her and back towards Laura. He ran his hand through his scruffy hair as another thought occurred to him. He looked down at Rogue again. "Magneto. You were using his powers a minute ago. Why?" He asked gruffly.

"Ah had a hunch that Ah needed to clarify, and Ah think Ah found out why she was so easy to read." She whispered back to him.

They were deep in conversation now, neither noticing Laura's eyes fly open or that she had only been feigning sleep.

**End of Chapter 16**


	17. Chapter 17

**A.N. Oh my stars and garters! Would you look at that, over 4000 hits thus far. Many thanks to everyone out there who is reading this story, I hope yer all enjoyin' as much as I am! Ye keep readin', I'll keep typin'! Please R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 17**

He looked like a student who had just pulled an all-nighter before an exam. His hair was tossed, his glasses awry from being pressed firmly against the desk, the bridge leaving a painful indentation on his nose, and paper that he was drooling on. She stood there in front of the door of his apartment, all neat and tall and judgemental, wondering who would want to spend any time with such a pathetic meat sack, if it wasn't for the money. Or other things, she silently mused.

She turned back to the door and opened it wide. She gave a quick nod of acknowledgment to Harrison who was just outside before swinging the door hard for it to slam shut with a very loud bang.

KA-BANG!!

Webber gasped and jumped at the noise, raising his head suddenly from the table.

"Wha-?!" He shouted, before seeing Ms. Dion standing before the doorway, a folder in one hand and a steaming cup of black coffee in the other.

"I'm sorry, sir. Did I wake you?" She said sweetly to him as he tried to tidy his hair and smooth his shirt. He felt that the side of his mouth was damp and quickly looked down at his precise schematics that he had literally been drooling over. He tensed and awkwardly used the sleeve of his shirt to dry the damp paper. Ms. Dion rolled her eyes at his antics and clicked her tongue.

"Pathetic..." She whispered quietly to herself.

"What was that?" He snapped in her direction. She smiled back to him as she placed the folder down on the kitchenette counter, and produced a blister pack from the pocket of her jacket and held it up in his direction with the cup of coffee.

"I said 'An analgesic?'." She offered him, her voice laced in honey like the snake suggesting fruit for breakfast to Eve. He frowned at her and fixed his glasses. He nodded and got up to take the goods, making short work of them. As he drank, she looked around him to the schematics on his desk.

"Are we going to the office today?" She quirked an eyebrow to him still staring at the drawings while his back was turned and head high, draining the last few drops from the coffee cup.

"Wherever I am is the office." He barked back at her. "Scan all those drawings to a USB key and be careful with them. I'm going for a shower." He turned away from her before leaving. As he walked, with serious effort he threw the disposable coffee cup in the direction of the trash can which was only ten feet away from him. It sailed gracefully through the air and landed on the floor four feet away from the unit, splashing a few drops of coffee on the tiles and rolled around in a circle before coming to a rest. The height of suave he was not.

oOo

The shiny metallic mutant was walking through the Danger Room carrying six by four foot sheet of 316 L stainless steel over his head. It was an inch thick with one side electro-polished to a smooth finish. It gleamed almost as much as he did. The sound of his heavy metal feet echoed around the room and out the open door and down the corridor to the ears of someone in need of some muscle.

Piotr placed the sheet metal down where Forge instructed as the other mutant transformed his hand into its robotic form and started drilling into the metal plate to hold it in place before Colossus let go of it. The teamwork was not going unnoticed by the six foot tall African women standing in the doorway.

"Thanks, man!" Forge indicated to the Russian that he could let go as he finished threading in the last screw to hold the panel in place. Forge and Piotr stepped back so they could admire their handy work. "Groovy, if we keep going at this rate, I think the Danger Room will be back online in a few days!"

"That's excellent news, Forge." The weather witch spoke up, causing them both to turn towards her in shock at her unknown presence. She addressed Colossus as she walked towards them. "Thank you for assisting Forge, Piotr. Especially since you only joined the Institute yesterday. I hope it inspires the some of the other less enthusiastic students here." Forge got a sense that she wished to speak with the big guy alone.

"I just remembered that I had some wiring to re-check up in the control room before the next panel goes in." Forge indicated to the control room up behind him with his thumb and he stepped back away from the two. He caught Ororo's quick nod of thanks for dismissing himself before he turned fully to walk out of the room. Piotr became a little uncomfortable but resisted the urge to shift his weight from one leg to the next and stood tall in front of Storm.

"You've been demonstrating good teamwork this morning, Mr. Rasputin." She informed the man before her. "You have worked well with us in the past too. We could use your help on another mission." She asked him, giving him sometime to respond but he said nothing. "Unless you think it is too soon, perhaps you need more time to get used to the Institute and the team."

"Нет." He looked around the Danger Room and then back to Storm, before his skin transformed back to its normal colour and texture. "If you believe my time would be better spent on this mission then I would be happy to oblige."

"Good. There's a new uniform for you below. Sunspot is just outside the door, he'll show you down." Ororo instructed as she turned towards the exit. "We leave in fifteen minutes." She ordered over her shoulder as she walked away, leaving him to his own thoughts before he walked out to meet Roberto.

oOo

"_Ah had a hunch that Ah needed to clarify, and Ah think Ah found out why she was so easy to read." She whispered back to him. _

_They were deep in conversation now, neither noticing Laura's eyes fly open or that she had only been feigning sleep._

Her chest burned and her throat felt raw and dry as waited. She stared at them discretely from the corner of her eye and watched as his gaze fixed on the girl. What was she going to tell him that was so different about her? And how did she know? She woke from her light slumber the moment she felt a tingle in her claws and arms and legs. It was a bizarre feeling with she had never felt before. She heard Logan leave the room and listened as he conversed with the other X-man. From all the files on the X-men, she understood that the girl's power transfer abilities were temporary. It seemed that she was more Rogue than anyone there realised.

She watched discretely as he took Rogue by her covered elbow and led the girl further away from her door, probably trying not to disturb her. They were not looking at her any more; they were looking at each other as she carefully peeled back the bed sheet and turned off the monitors around her. She peeled off the adhesive strips for the sensors that the Beast placed on her and pulled out the needle for the drip careful not to make a sound. Blood trickled a little from the back of her hand. Laura watched with morbid curiosity as it healed, slower than usual. She wiped away the telltale blood and looked around her. The curtain drawn half ways around her bed would conceal enough from anyone else passing by.

oOo

Scott prepared the X-jet for another mission as Wolfsbane, Iceman and Magma strapped into their seats. Bobby fidgeted in his seat, anxious to get going. They hadn't been told what the mission was but it had to be good. He knew it was going to be good when he saw Storm and the former Acolyte following Sunspot into the hanger in a shiny new X-men suit.

Scott stood to greet the Russian for his first mission as a part of the team. Scott had grown a lot in the past year and he wasn't about to make the same mistakes that he made in the past, for example, with Lance Alvers. He should have been more encouraging when Avalanche wanted to join the team. As a team leader that was his job. Instead, he made it his mission to make it as hard for Lance as possible. He was disappointed with how he behaved and what's more, he disappointed the Professor. Lance has since proved himself to be somewhat honourable and the bigger man than Scott on occasions. Hence, if Xavier trusted Piotr Rasputin, who was he to go against him? As soon as the new team member stepped on board Scott held out his hand to him, which the Russian took and shook.

"Welcome to the team, Colossus. The uniform fit okay?" Cyclops greeted the Russian professionally. In answer to his question, Colossus shifted from his normal skin to his metallic form, growing in size as he did so. The uniform stretched with him.

"Да. Спасибо." Piotr answered back in his native tongue. One of Scott's eyebrows rose a little in confusion. "Yes. Thank you." Piotr repeated his reply in accented English, gaining a nod of understanding from Cyclops. Colossus strapped himself into the nearest available seat, intending to remaining in his metallic form for the duration of the flight. Scott turned to take his seat next to Storm in the pilot's seat when he saw Alex waving from below.

"Two minutes, Storm." Cyclops asked and turned to go back down the ramp to his brother. They walked to meet each other.

"Sorry, Scott, didn't mean to delay you. Just wanted to catch you before you left." Alex addressed his older brother. Scott waved it off.

"Hey, it's no problem. Sorry I didn't come to see you beforehand." Scott apologised loosely to Alex, who also waved it off, shaking his head. It was easy to see that these two were related.

"It's okay. I just wanted to know when you'd be back." He inquired, causing Scott to rub the back of his neck and frown.

"Not sure, the Prof doesn't even have proper co-ordinates for us yet." He stopped rubbing his neck when a thought struck him. "How did you know that I was down here?" Alex flinched.

"Oh, I ah sorta bumped into Jean and she told me you might be here." He glossed over some of the information and Scott could tell.

"And...?" He pressed.

"And nothing!" Alex replied, which caused both of Scott's eyebrows to raise in question. Alex squirmed under his gaze and decided to come clean. "Okay, not nothing... Between the two of us, we sorta blew up a chair." He admitted. Scott thought his eyebrows could go higher, but with that information they did.

"How do you 'sorta' blow up a chair?" He asked slowly.

"It happened really fast but she kinda threw it at me and I... Well, when a chair suddenly comes flying at you, you kinda leave it up to instinct." Alex shrugged.

"Why did she throw a chair at you?" Scott asked, still a little confused at the situation Alex found himself in.

"I dunno, she said I startled her." He replied, showing his doubt of her answer but Scott didn't pick up on that.

"Should never sneak up on someone, especially if they have super powers." Scott told his little brother with a smile and an affectionate pat on the shoulder, but Alex got defensive.

"Hey, I wasn't sneaking. I called out her name before I saw her and..." Scott furrowed his brow.

"What?" He asked his little brother to come clean again. Alex told him what he saw, slowly.

"Well, she was already on the floor, clutching her head when I came in, dude." He looked up at him, wondering if that was normal for Jean or not. "Plus, you know, she's a telepath... Shouldn't her spider-sense be tingling or something when someone's nearby?" He added weakly. Scott rolled his eyes.

"Real life, Alex..." Scott reminded his brother to tame his overactive imagination. Alex shrugged.

"_Scott, are you coming?"_ Storm contacted him on his communicator from the X-jet cockpit.

"Ah, ya Storm, I'll be right there." He replied back to her over his communication device. He turned his attention back to Alex. "Are you sure that's what Jean was doing?"

"Yeah, pretty sure, dude." Alex nodded along with his affirmation.

"Right, well, tell the Professor what you saw, he'll know what to do. It might be a sign of her powers growing again." He was about to turn to leave when he asked one more thing of him. "Keep an eye on her for me until I get back."

"No problem, bro!" He accepted the mini mission with a big-thumbs up sign and a smile. Scott patted his shoulder again before turning to climb back onto the X-jet. Scott entered the jet and sat in the pilot seat next to Storm, strapping himself in silently. Ororo looked over to him.

"Is everything okay?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, Storm. Everything's fine." Scott fibbed. "Let's just find this guy." He said with finality, putting an end to their conversation and starting up the jet. As they started moving, Piotr felt an odd tingling sensation that he had not felt in a long time. The sensation made him nervous but ceased when he transformed back to his normal skin. He furrowed his brow as he thought. Bobby looked over as his new teammate.

"Nervous flyer, Piotr?" He asked. The Russian shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Да. Something like that." He told the Iceman.

oOo

He took her elbow gently (well, gently for him) and guided her down the hall. His eyes were fixed on hers the whole time. They moved silently and Rogue let him decide how far away was far enough before she said anymore. Logan always preferred to discuss things in private, but his paranoia has been on the increase lately. They stopped. He looked around and sniffed the air to make sure that they were alone. He lowered his voice.

"Tell me." He said mostly as an order but some almost as a concerned parent.

"The Adamantium bonding process." He flinched at her choice of topic but nodded for her to continue. "She went through it when she was twelve." Logan opened his mouth stupidly to ask how she knew that but then remembered who he was talking to.

"Same process as I was put through. Done to make her the ultimate weapon. Indestructible skeleton and claws, like me." Logan nodded along; telling her what Hydra told him.

"What they did to her was a little different to you, though." Rogue informed him, to which he frowned wondering what she was getting at.

"Got a claw on each foot instead o' three on each hand but-" He started saying back to her before she cut him off.

"No, not that... I think they intended to make her just like you, eventually." Rogue told him slowly, still thinking it through herself staring into the empty space between them as she thought. He waited for her to fill in the blanks. "They didn't do her full skeleton Logan. Only reason I can think why is that they intended it to be completed when she was older, had finished growin'."

"So, what did they do?" Logan asked, looking down at the top of her head, arms crossed.

"Only her claws and their housin' in her limbs were done, but not the rest of her." She informed him, giving him a moment to let it sink in. "She's got claws like you, and a better healing factor probably without as much Adamantium poisoning..." She added as a side note. Again, Logan almost asked how she knew about that before he remembered that she had all of his memories and telepathy to boot. This girl, who was riddled with secrets, could know everything about everyone else... if she wanted. Rogue continued with her explanation. "But her skull never had Adamantium grafted to it and she has all her memories intact. It makes her as vulnerable to telepaths as any other average person."

"Are you sure you can tell all that without even looking at an X-ray?" Logan was struggling with all of this. Those monsters wanted to put a child through the Weapon X program not just once, but twice? He needed some proof. Rogue looked up at him, but then shut her eyes in concentration and placed her right hand to her temple.

"The reasons behind it are just theories, Logan. Some of the fragments it accidentally got from Laura back them up, but they're still just theories." She lowered her hand to the space between them as Logan felt a tingle starting in his chest and moving out throughout his body. Rogue opened her eyes, they glowed yellow. "But the Adamantium..." She moved her hand over his left arm and down over his fingers, the slight magnetic pull lifting his arms millimetres away from its normal position and following down his arm with her movement. She was using Magneto's powers in a much less destructive and forceful way than the originator ever had, with much more finesse and care for the Wolverine. Suddenly, she whipped her head around in Laura's direction. Something was wrong.

"She's gone." Rogue said with eyes wide and yellow.

**End of Chap****ter 17**

_A.N. Uh oh! Now where has she gone? Well now, I guess we'll see in the next chapter! Sorry for the wait on this one, graduation beckoned. The next chapter should be soon though!_


	18. Chapter 18

**A.N. Well now, how're we doin'? I guess we'll keep goin' then, eh? Alrigh' so! R&R, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 18**

_Suddenly__, she whipped her head around in Laura's direction. Something was wrong._

"_She's gone." Rogue said with eyes wide and yellow._

Logan sprang into action. He ran in to Laura's room, pushing the door open with a bang and pulled aside the curtain that hid most of the bed, tearing it from its hooks on the rail in parts with the sudden force. She was nowhere to be seen. The monitors were all switched off with their wires and sensors dangled loosely next to them. The bed was tossed and looked slept in. Logan put his hand on hospital mattress. It was still warm. He felt grit on the sheets and pinched the dirt for closer examination. On closer examination he realised it was small shavings of plastic. He looked up above the bed and saw a roughly slashed hole, larger enough for the little feral mutant to escape through, through the smooth plastic panelled hospital ceiling.

Logan growled as Rogue followed into the room behind him, her eyes still glowing with Magneto's powers as she tried to sense where on the grounds she might have gone. However, she had to extinguish the abilities when the Beast rushed in to see what all the commotion was about. When he saw no traces of his charge he turned to Logan, the question written all over his face.

"She took off." He informed him simply and gruffly.

"I'll go and tell Charles. He might be able to use Cerebro to find her." The Beast replied, already moving in a run as he was talking and set off towards Cerebro. Once out of earshot, Logan turned to Rogue in question.

"She's not in the building or on the grounds. Other than that Ah don't know where she's gone." She told him quickly. He sniffed the air for her scent then thought of taking the most directed route. He jumped on to the bed in a powerful and sudden leap.

Snikt! Snikt!

He popped the claws and sliced at the opening in the ceiling, making it slightly larger then jumped up and disappeared through it, retracing Laura's steps by following her scent.

He climbed through the void spaces between the ceiling and the next floor, stepping on beams trying not to fall through the ceiling tiles. He passed over and under wiring and pipes and the tops of other brick walls, to where he saw a light in the distance from a freshly cut hole. His feet crunched on the bits of cement and wood scattered on the beams and walls underneath him when he came under the opening. He used his claws to widen this gap as he did with the other. He leaped through it and landed with his feet either side of opening, and could smell her scent mixed with gasoline. Even with his eyes closed, he would have been able to tell that he was in the garage.

Something moved behind him. He turned sharply, claws out directed towards the sound. Alarmed glowing red eyes greeted him in the dim light.

"Down, boy! 's me!" Gambit said quickly, hands up from behind his motorcycle, which he was working on, in an 'I mean you no harm' gesture. Logan growled, holding back a smirk.

"'S that supposed ta help your case, bub?" Logan said threateningly, claws still pointed at the Cajun. A few moments passed where Logan felt like making Gumbo sweat it out but he realised he didn't have time for games. He had to find Laura. He retracted his sharp Adamantium claws.

Un-Snikt! Un-Snikt!

"Have you seen a girl come through here in the last few minutes?" Logan knew that if Laura had come across this guy on her way through, he wouldn't be conscious. Remy eyed him warily for a second before responding.

"Jus' got here, mon ami. But I did see dat tall redhead pull out in dat shiny new SUV o' hers." Gambit replied indicating to where Jean's SUV had been parked only moments ago. Logan walked over and inhaled a strong and recent scent of X-23 from the designated parking space. He looked down at the ground when detected a dank metallic scent. Upon closer inspection, he saw a few drops of blood scattered at the back of the parking space. They came from Laura.

oOo

Why she ran, he had no idea. But he had to find her and make sure she was safe. Her healing factor was behaving erratically, but it had gotten her body through the worst of the damage. But if she had left the institute there was no telling what would happen, especially if she wound up in a fight. She still had claws, but she might not get back up again if someone puts her down this time. The Beast ran towards Cerebro, and placed his palm against the biometrics scanner to gain access.

The doors opened revealing Charles Xavier positioned at the controls of the massive computer, with the Cerebro head gear on his head, linked to the X-jet giving directions to the team.

"...are his last known whereabouts, Storm. Contact me when you arrive there. Cerebro may have picked up more information by then." Xavier pressed a button on the console to end the communication, but quickly placed his hand to his temple as if he were experiencing the onset of a sudden migraine.

"Not so loud, Hank." Charles informed his friend, without turning, to quieten his thoughts a bit. "I'll see if I can sense her." Charles picked up on Hanks worries and typed a few things into Cerebro, bringing up Laura's profile. He concentrated using the headset to try and find her and came up with a static he never before sensed.

"Well?" Hank asked the Professor. Normally using Cerebro was fast if he knew what he was looking for and given that Laura was still healing, her powers would be active. Xavier took off the headset and looked at Hank.

"I'm sorry, I can't seem to find her. Something is psychically interfering. I've never sensed anything like it." Xavier explained.

"Perhaps if you and Jean tried, you could get sense her." Hank tried, hoping that it would work desperation evident in his voice. "We have to find her, Charles." Xavier nodded and placed his fingertips to his temples to summon Jean to Cerebro to help him. He searched the lower levels of the Institute, the entire mansion and the grounds and sensed no psychic presence of the other telepath.

"I can't find her either." Xavier admitted, shocked and worried of Jean's disappearance.

"I think she took off and Laura hitched a ride." Rogue offered from the doorway of the big round room, causing both Xavier and the Beast to turn in shock at her presence. She gestured to her communicator. "Logan's already trackin' them on his motorcycle."

"Why would Jean take off?" A new voice behind her questioned. Alex Summers was standing nearby, not intentionally eavesdropping but was nonetheless so he opted to join in on the conversation taking place. Rogue turned to him and shrugged with her arms behind her back, thumbs hooked into the back pockets of her jeans.

"Dunno. Professor?" She turned to Xavier and asked to be enlightened. He wracked his brain to try and come up for a reason for why Jean would leave the area and came up with one quickly enough.

"She wanted to go to Rochester earlier. I told her that she was needed here. She was disappointed but it's very unlikely that she would take off over that." Xavier hypothesised weakly. Rogue noticed Alex fidgeting guiltily next to her.

"What is it, Alex?" She asked him, her tone letting him know that this was no time to be humming and hawing over what to say.

"I saw her earlier when I was looking for Scott. She didn't look upset but she did look a little bit freaked out. She was on the floor, clutching her head. I called out her name and she threw a chair at me... telekinetically. Scott said to tell you, that it could be sign that her powers were growing again." Alex dutifully informed Xavier and the others. Everyone in the room grew quiet. Alex was not around the last time Jean's powers advanced, and the Beast only saw a little of what happened in Bayville High, but Charles and Rogue saw more than anyone, and what's more, they knew what it could be leading too.

Xavier soberly put back on the Cerebro headset and brought up Jean's profile on the screen in front of him. He stretched out with his mind, his powers amplified by Cerebro, and searched Bayville for Jean. He found nothing and moved onto searching further when he started sensing the same static as earlier. He focussed on the energy around this static and got a sense of Jean. If he concentrated a little harder maybe he could get through to...

"_**Get out of my head!"**_ A dark voice telepathically hissed loudly at him. The energy of Cerebro spiked and blasted him away from the console. The quick reflexes and strength of Hank McCoy's mutation enabled him to catch Xavier's chair awkwardly before he toppled over the edge of the platform, but caused him to fall out of the chair and onto the catwalk to the door instead. His head was pounding as he struggled to come to terms with what had just happened.

"Professor! You alright?" Rogue rushed to his side to help him get the headset off. "Professor!" She started to panic when he wasn't saying anything but he was moving. Alex was frozen in the doorway, not knowing what was going on or what to do. Xavier struggled with thought for a few moments before responding to her as Beast checked his pupil dilation for signs of concussion with the eye pen he carried in his lab coat pocket.

"I'm fine. Thank you." He reassured his colleagues, grateful for their concern.

"What happened?!" Alex shouted from the doorway, his brain finally unfreezing. Rogue helped Charles back into his chair; he gripped her high on her arms tightly, mostly to brace himself but it also revealed how scared he was. For the first time, he forgot about Rogue's powers, not remembering until it was too late, when one his thumbs made brief contact with the bare skin on her shoulder. She broke the contact before he could, pushing him back against the Beast. He was drowsy, but it was short enough not to knock him out completely. His fresh thoughts and memory were circling around in her head, as were the thoughts of everyone in the building until she focussed enough just to hear the thoughts of those in the room with her. The thoughts of all three and her own were jumbled together like the chatter of a crowd.

"_Man!"_

"_Oh, my stars..."_

"_I hope..."_

"_... and garters!"_

"_S__he knows!"_

"_... she doesn't..."_

"_Charles' powers..."_

"_...go mental and..."_

"_... she can't handle..."_

"_... skewers us..." _

"_Don't look at me!"_

"_... them, it's too much..."_

"_... with those claws..."_

"_I'm sorry!"_

"_... power for one person!"_

"_... Kurt told me about..." _

She fell to her knees clutching her head as the fog around her cleared. She filtered out Alex, then the Beast. She looked up with teary eyes at the one person left that she couldn't block out as he couldn't help projecting his thoughts to her in his frantic state.

"_She'll never forgive me."_ He thought as his eyes connected with hers.

oOo

Cl-click, g-hurr!

Bright light...

Cl-click, g-hurr!

Another bright light...

Cl-click, g-hurr!

Oh look, a bright light, who would have guessed...

Ms. Dion sighed and rolled her eyes at the menial task. She didn't have time to get a good look at the drawings so she came up with a second plan. She could hear the sounds of running water in the apartment as she scanned all the documents he asked her to scan. She was onto the last one, finally.

Cl-click, g-hurr!

Bright light, once more...

She opened up the copies of the scans onto the computer screen and saved them to two USB drives, one for her young boss, Mr. Webber Torque, as requested and one for her. She deleted all evidence of the second download like an expert, covering all her bases, and slipped the small key into the lining of her jacket before he emerged from the shower, dressed in another ridiculously overpriced suit.

"Aren't you finished yet?" He snapped at her. She remained graceful and poised.

"Just finished now, sir." She replied sweetly as she handed him the USB key. "I think I did it right, I'm not sure if there was enough memory on it for all of them." He sighed in annoyance at her ignorance and her apparent lack of computer skills and took the memory key off her and plugged it into his computer. His fingers moved expertly fast over the keyboard, finding what he was looking for in split seconds.

"They're all there." He said, unplugging the key and putting it in his pocket. He typed in a few commands and she saw the progress bar pop up for the action, deleting and clearing the scans from the local drive. He gathered all the drawings into an awkward bundle and carried them over to a massive picture frame in the living room. He pushed aside the painting with his elbow to reveal the door to a large safe behind it. Unlike most things in his apartment, this wasn't electronic, it was mechanical. He didn't feel that electronics were the best way to go when it came to security. If he could hack it, he didn't trust it.

"I think we need more security around here." He added as an afterthought, once the safe was loaded and secure. Ms. Dion nodded and took out her palm top.

"You need more Harrisons, sir? That can be arranged." She answered him, tapping a few things into her organiser as she talked. He responded slowly.

"No..." She looked up from her palm top to look at him, her eyebrows raised in question. "I think I need something a little more... evolved." He put delicately. She paused, and then smiled a 'Mona Lisa' smile.

"Leave it with me, sir." She told him efficiently and obediently.

oOo

In another part of the country, an elegant man reaching his sixties and dressed in an Armani suit, and a clashing but important looking hard hat and safety goggles, walked through his massive warehouse. The building housed a former steel beams and girders manufacturing facility. Although the sector had reached a dramatic slowdown given the state of the economy, this building was processing more steel than ever. However, what was going in was much greater than what was going out. A lot was being held back, for other more sinister purposes.

His steel capped shoes echoed on the suspended grid floor as they walked over and high above the factory floor. Accompanying Mr. Worthington was his opportunistic and sadistic tour guide on his pay roll, taken away from the prying eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mr. Bolivar Trask.

"Different sites are being used to manufacture different parts, which on their own would be harmless and hard to trace. They look like any other building material. Then, they are sent to one of a few plants that assemble the pieces together, like here, for example." Mr. Worthington looked over the edge of the railing next to their suspended walkway above the workshop floor and saw people and robotic arms assembling larger robotic arms and shoulder units. "As you can see, Mr. Worthington, we have been working at full capacity for the last three months creating the necessary tools to keep this country safe." Mr. Warren Worthington the Second looked around at the semi-automated production lines assembling or manufacturing the required components. Worthington nodded in approval.

"Good to see my money is not going to waste. What are your numbers at?" He asked sharply.

"Here? Approximately, twenty-five units completed." Trask smiled proudly as he stated the numbers. One of Worthington's eyebrows rose at his cockiness.

"You mean, almost complete." He corrected the other man. Trask knew what he was getting at.

"To be frank, sir, they are, at present, good enough to handle most mutants." Trask sounded all too trigger happy to let the monsters loose on the mutants now. "Your proposed addition to their weapons array is welcomed and would prove most useful." He said knowing that potential for their recent discovery. "But the ones we have now are ready to be deployed today."

"Tactics were never your strong point, Trask. Neither was business." Worthington said to his old friend with a condescending pat on the shoulder and a smile. "All I want you to focus on at the moment is to keep those numbers growing." They reached the end of the walkway and descended the steps to the ground floor and entered the last section of the warehouse. Trask opened as small door through which they walked, entering a very dark room. Trask flipped a switch illuminating the room's contents. Twenty-five gigantic Sentinels stood tall like soldiers shoulder to shoulder in the massive room which had a capacity for more.

oOo

Jean pulled out of the garage slowly so as not to cause suspicion to Gambit, who she could see from her rear view mirror, working on his bike. She drove down the long driveway and past the front gates and onto the road tasting freedom from the Institute. As the distance between her and the mansion grew she became more and more aware of herself and how much she had been cooped up in that place. She tried not to be bitter about it but was finding it tough. So she has been having a little trouble managing her powers lately, it doesn't mean she's not dependable.

"_**Try trustworthy..."**_ The darkness whispered to her once more. What it was saying wasn't true. He was like a second father to her, and she a daughter to him. Charles trusted her with his life and the lives of everyone else in the Institute.

"_**But not with your**__**s..."**_ The darkness hissed corruption. Jean grew timid.

"Who are you?" She asked out loud to herself afraid that she may already know the answer.

"_**I**__** am you; only, I have seen the light..." **_The voice whispered softly back.

"_**Stop the car!!!"**_ It shouted all of a sudden, causing Jean to slam on the breaks. The tyres screeched across the tarmac as Jean used her driving skills and telekinesis to maintain control of the car. The vehicle came to a screeching halt, casting smoke and leaving rubber skid marks on the ground. Jean heard a sound coming from the trunk.

Thump!

"_**We have a guest..." **_Her darker side informed her.

**End of Chap****ter 18**

_A.N. I hope the attempts at writing sound effects worked, or at the very least got a little laugh of pity? Thanks all for reading! R&R, RR_


	19. Chapter 19

**A.N. Oh dear, Jean is suffering some serious moods swings, eh? So many ideas, not enough time to write! lol! Thanks to everyone who has been reading and thank you for all the lovely reviews ye've been leaving! Much appreciated!!! I hope ye all keep enjoyin' the story! Thanks again! R&R, RR.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 19**

Her mouth and throat felt like they had been scalded. Her skin had been cleaned up as best as it could have been. Most of her clothes had melted in the fire; a hospital gown now covered most of her and her dignity, white bandages covered the rest of her. Inhaling the dry dusty air as she crawled through the darkness was not helping her situation. She ripped off the bandages on her arms, having deemed them unnecessary to her recovery. When she had crawled far enough, she knocked on the surface directly above her head, hearing a faint hollow sound with her exceptional hearing abilities as she did so. She looked back at the distance that she had crawled, back towards the faint light shining from below.

She had to leave. The blue furry one was nice, but as she was getting better he was becoming more mothering as the hours progressed and treated her like a cross between a lab rat and toddler. And that other girl, she didn't want to hear her tell him that she was defective, or whatever it was that she was going to say. Logan was probably the only thing she had in the way of family. He made that point to her loud and clear the first time they met. They went through the same stuff, but he couldn't remember most of it, whereas she could. She could see that Logan wanted to look out for her of his own free will. That was something that she wasn't used to. He tried to understand her even, but he couldn't. Probably the closest anyone could get to understanding, but even if he can't remember it, he probably had a normal childhood, parents, a house, and siblings? She had no one. She was a weapon from birth and they never let her forget it.

This X-men idea of being part of a team baffled her. Hydra's idea of teamwork was setting her loose on an unsuspecting situation; then sending in their people when she had cleared a path. She wasn't in the 'their people' category. As she thought, she became increasingly bitterer. Hydra or X-men, it didn't matter. She wanted her freedom back. Being on her own was how she wanted to live. She didn't need anyone and she didn't care about anyone... Well, that wasn't true. If she didn't care, why did she wait after the Hydra explosion until she was sure Logan had caught her scent? Logically, she would have been safer if he didn't know. But, nonetheless, she waited around in a place crawling with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra operatives and waited patiently, upwind, to ensure he caught her scent.

She sighed in annoyance and shook her head to get rid of her distracting thoughts. She didn't have time for that, she had people to find. She used her extended claws and made short work of the wood and cement above her, creating space enough for her to crawl through quietly. She emerged in the garage, by the wall. On her left there were motorcycles, on her right, there were cars and the X-van. Her fingers traced the red and yellow paint lovingly on the motorcycle nearest to her but she moved quickly when she heard footsteps approaching the garage doors from the mansion. She dashed for the cars as cover and ducked behind the back of the silver SUV. She saw a tall, red-haired, young woman walk into the garage and walk slowly past the motorbikes and approaching the very vehicle she was hiding behind. Jean, her name was Jean Grey: Telepathic and telekinetic. She made a quick decision and determined that the easiest way to get out of the place was to hitch a ride. She retracted all her claws but one.

Un-Snikt!

The last claw she used to sever the locking mechanism on the trunk door. She opened it quietly and climbed in swiftly, not noticing the blood trickling freely down her knuckles. She ripped off another long white bandage from an unhealed burn and used the material to tie the trunk door shut. She could hear Jean fumbling about in her handbag for something, probably the keys. She heard the garage doors opening again and Jean sighing in frustration. She never heard the keys, but heard all the doors unlock simultaneously. She heard the driver door open and felt the movement of the car with the small weight of the new person sitting in, and heard the door shut again. She didn't hear the keys enter the ignition, but felt the engine igniting and roaring to life and the drive engage.

oOo

He was on high alert; she could see and smell that he was anxious about something. He took his seat at the front, next to Ororo. Although she was the furthest away from them, she was the only one of the others that could hear them.

"Yeah, Storm. Everything's fine." He was lying. "Let's just find this guy." He terminated their conversation abruptly. He did want to find whoever it was, but that wasn't where he wanted to be. Rahne wondered what distracted their fearsome leader so much, and if it was a mutant that they were going after. Scott started up the jet.

They started moving, Wolfsbane sensed someone elses' anxiousness near her. She looked over to her right and saw Piotr. He looked worried but then transformed back to his normal skin. She thought it was odd. If he was anxious about flying, wouldn't he have remained in his safe steely form, rather than change to his vulnerable human one? She furrowed her brow as he did. Bobby must have noticed something was up also as he addressed Piotr.

"Nervous flyer, Piotr?" He asked. The Russian shifted uncomfortably in his seat not noticing Rahne closely studying his movements.

"Да. Something like that." He told Bobby, the muscles in his jaw flexed when he had stopped talking and Rahne clicked with what emotion she was picking up off of him. It was fear.

The jet took off at a huge acceleration and rapidly vanished through the hidden hanger doors under the waterfall by the cliff face. They came out into the open air and tilted back, climbing in altitude and speed. Rahne looked around and watched her friends move their jaws around trying to get their ears to pop from the height and pressure drop. She glanced over to Amara slightly, given that the acceleration of the Jet was keeping her head pushed back against the seat and head rest, who was looking a wee bit green. Already Magma was showing signs of travel sickness; she was a terrible flyer and traveller in general. Her powers are very in tune with the Earth's core, so it doesn't do her much good to be away from the ground for too long. Bobby and Roberto were thrilled by the excitement of a mission; adrenaline junkies. Piotr looked like he was still thinking about what had frightened him a moment ago. He, like Scott, looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.

Well, this was a wonderful omen. They were off on their first mission since she returned to the Institute. They didn't know what it was yet that they were supposed to do or how dangerous it was going to be, for that matter. Not only has she not worked as part of the team in months, there was now a new laddy on it who hadn't even had a Danger Room session yet and who looked very nervous. Two members of the team looked like they wanted to be elsewhere, and another two members looked like they wanted to be there a little too much. Another member of the team was feeling queasy. So, that left herself and the weather witch as the only ones with enough of their wits about them to take care of things, and only one of them knew what those things were. Rahne's normally sunny outlook clouded over. She did not think that this mission would go smoothly.

Once they had levelled off, Ororo linked to the Institute for further instructions from Professor Xavier.

"Charles?" Storm enquired over the com-link to the institute.

"_Downtown Los Angeles, California; he has a few sports equipment manufacturing plants in the industrial zones there, and residential property. He made an appearance at a benefit concert last night and Cerebro tells has detected that's he is still in the area. Those are his last known whereabouts, Storm. Contact me when you arrive there. Cerebro may have picked up more information by then." _The line cut out as they finished their conversation. Rahne processed the gist of their mission. They were tracking down someone, someone famous or rich by the sounds of it. But was it a chase or a hunt. Made sense now why she was asked to tag along; they needed a tracker. But first, they had to fly from the East Coast to West Coast; they'll be flying for a little while yet. Just then, Amara undid her belt quickly and ran for the nearest water closet. Rahne sighed; this was going to be a very long day.

oOo

_Logan walked over and inhaled a strong and recent scent of X-23 from the designated parking space. He looked down at the ground when detected a dank metallic scent. Upon closer inspection, he saw a few drops of blood scattered at the back of the parking space. They came from Laura._

He growled and stalked over to the open garage door. Gambit simply watched, not saying anything. Logan sniffed the air at the garage door and turned sharply to his motorcycle. He suited up, then he took one look at the Cajun before he whipped out his communicator.

"Jean?!" Logan shouted into the device, having it set to her frequency. All he got back was static. "Jean?! Come in!" Still static. He growled even louder this time, extremely annoyed, and flicked a dial on the communicator.

"Rogue?!... Rogue! Come in!" He shouted out as he mounted his motorcycle. A crackle was heard on the small device.

"_Logan? What's goin' on?" _The southerner's voice came through loud and clear. Logan started the engine.

"Red's taken off, can't reach her. The kid's in the trunk of her car." He said bluntly, causing Remy to give a 'what?' in disbelief, sure that he had misheard. Logan ignored him; at that moment that guy was just white noise.

"_You sure?"_ Rogue's voice carried over the com device, clearly not as alarmed as Gambit's.

"'S what all the evidence points to, 'sides..." Logan smiled into the communicator. "'S what I'd do." He said before he revved the engine with a shrug. "I'm gonna track the truck. Can't get each o' their scents past the garage doors."

"Ah'll get the Professor to find Jean on Cerebro." Rogue's side of the conversation returned to static.

"Need 'n extra set o' hand, mon ami." Logan bit back a comment to the Cajun once he realised he was being genuine.

"No thanks." He revved the engine once more before saying one last thing over his shoulder. "Go find Rogue. Get everyone ready in case this goes south." Gambit saluted an affirmation back to him. He released the brakes on the bike and unleashed it's speed, momentarily spinning the back wheel on the spot, burning rubber, before shooting off down the driveway leaving the risen dust in his wake.

The bike hit the tarmac on the open road, leaping from the front gates, and squeaked a bit as the rubber touched down once more. He could track the smell of the engine of Jean's SUV, which would do until they reached a popular road. Unfortunately, the scent of a car isn't the same as the scent of a person. It's not unique. Jean's SUV was a very popular model. Hopefully he would find them before that became a problem.

He tore down the roads and junctions, not giving a damn about the speed limits. He used his sensitive hearing at the junctions with sharp steering skills to avoid causing any accidents, although there were some close calls.

He saw the lights turn red at the fast approaching low level crossing and the barriers descend. The train started crossing in front of him coming from the right; first passenger cars, and then next would be cargo. The queue of traffic across the two lanes on the right-hand side was only three and four cars deep. He pushed his large weight down on the bike to get it to hop onto the curb and footpath on his right, which rose to meet the passenger level of the train cars. He timed it well. He accelerated as the cargo boxes approached. Then with a brief 'Hail Mary', he ploughed through a hollow section, crashing through two walls of wood. As he came through the second wall, the end of the car caught the back section of his bike, throwing the back wheel out a bit to the left. He threw his weight around a bit while still midair trying to correct the offset and landed, with a wobble and some tyre squeak, on the right side of the road after the railway track, before taking off again at an unholy speed.

The scent was growing stronger but unfortunately, he was drawing closer to the freeway. That previously mentioned issue was about to become a problem. He held the com device up to his ear, despite the helmet and tried to contact Rogue to see it she'd have any ideas where they went yet from Chuck.

"Stripes!" He called out over her frequency, getting only static back. "Rogue?!" No response. He was starting to get concerned that she wasn't answering but put away the device to concentrate on joining the freeway at high speed while tracking the scent of a certain make of vehicle before another gave him a multiple choice questions exam. He cut left across the path of an arctic truck which, he'll admit was a little close so the hocked horn was justified, but there was no time to lose. He picked up two more SUV scents heading in the same direction for the moment but detected that one was about to take a fast approaching exit.

He didn't know which one to follow. Two carried on straight, but one exited. Odds were on the two heading straight, but the sounds of tyres screeching in the far off distance, barely audible to even him. He had no idea if it was them but his mind was made up as he crossed sharply to the right to follow the exit of that SUV.

A few minutes later on the same stretch of road, he was coming up to where he was sure the sound had come from. The scent of the SUV became stronger and stronger. He was even able to detect the faint scent of the two girls. He saw the tyre marks on the road of where they must have skidded but no sign of the car. He slowed down a fraction as he past them, wondering why they skidded to a halt and where they had gone on to now.

Suddenly something hit him, or rather he hit something. It was as if he had hit an invisible brick wall. His precious bike crumpled and was obliterated, as was most of his skin. The force of hitting the invisible wall pressed the entire weight and momentum of his body on his front, sending all his organ forward, ripping them to shreds. He was about to put his healing factor to the test again. Right before he hit this force field something shouted out to his mind.

"_**One will do..."**_ A dark female voice hissed before everything hurt and went black.

oOo

Thump!

She was thrown forward and landed awkwardly as her back and head connected with the side and legs of the hospital bed. Two strong people in white uniforms grabbed her roughly by the arms and pulled her up before pushing her down on the bed. The light was too bright. Her arms and legs were strapped down by padded restraints. She felt a small and warm, but gloved hand angle her arm gently; she then felt something sharp and painful penetrate the skin in the crook of her elbow.

"Be careful with her. We want her to live, remember." The woman who injected her with something told the nurses. She had a slight accent, telling her she was of European persuasion. She didn't sound young; there was a slight crackle to her voice. She was probably middle-aged or older. "Report any symptoms she displays." She could see the outline of her now as she was leaving. She had short hair; she too was dressed in white.

The others followed suit. Janette was left alone, strapped to the bed, recovering from the pain in her arm of the injection and manhandling. A bright light shined over her bed and was the only thing around her that she could see fully until her eyes adjusted painfully. She saw the light bound off the door and the four mirrored walls in the small white and shiny clean room. She tried moving but she was strapped in too well. The only thing she could move was her head. She lifted her head up and could see the angry red mark in her elbow form the needle and red raw skin that was starting to bruise on her lightly tanned skin. Her long dark blonde hair fell in messy bangs over her eyes obscuring her view. She was clad in a hospital gown and underwear. Last night's make-up had mostly been removed in the rough wash down they received upon arrival to this hell hole but the ruminants of her eye make-up gave her panda eyes, only adding to the crazy appearance, suggesting that she belonged here.

The silence was deafening, the solitude was maddening. She was afraid to think, frightened to let herself feel what had happened. Once left to her own thoughts she couldn't help but think of what had happened in their house, and the look in Esther's eyes. Janette had never been so scared in her life. Esther had saved her, even after she had learned that she had betrayed her trust. She died, and it was all her fault. Her head hurt with the inexpressible grief she felt. She started to shiver and coughed wracked sobs for her lost friend. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, willing herself not to feel anything. The pain in her heart was all-consuming. She did not feel the angry red mark on her arm grow and inflame.

**End of Chap****ter 19**

_A.N. ... Virtual penny for your thoughts? RR_


	20. Chapter 20

**A.N. O, mo Dhia!! I can't believe I'm up to Chapter 20 already! And over 5000 hits! Tá sé sabháiste!!! Thanks to everyone who has been reading and the lovely reviews ye've been leaving! I hope ye all keep enjoyin' the story! Thanks again! R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 20**

Forge felt around for a Philips head screwdriver before he suddenly felt a bolt of pain rip through his head, causing him to collapse on the floor and clutch his head in agony. It disappeared almost as fast as it had started, leaving him on the floor of the Danger Room to catch his breath.

oOo

Gambit picked himself up of the floor of the basement corridor. He was running fast when a blinding pain shot through his skull causing him to veer off course and roughly hit the wall with speed. Now the pain had gone and he staggered to his feet to head in the same direction he had been aiming for before the sudden setback.

oOo

Kitty was on the cold hard ground of the kitchen floor, shivering in her pyjamas. She didn't know what hurt the most; the pain in her head which had now receded or her tail bone from her rough landing after phasing through two stories of the mansion unintentionally.

"You alrigh', Kitty?!" Sam Gunthrie asked her in his thick Southern accent, drawing her attention to him and the other four teens around the kitchen table with him, all rubbing their heads same as her after the sudden... whatever it was... She shook her head to clear and refocus her thoughts.

"Am, yeah... Just totally freaked! What was that?!" She said from the ground. Ray was closest to her and was about to get up to help her up but Jamie beat him to it, rising from table very quickly. He walked over. Suddenly three Jamies were helping Kitty up into a standing position, trying their best to be as chivalrous as possible to her. Apparently he still had a little crush on her, despite that he was, like, thirteen.

"Thank you, Jamie." She rewarded him with a warm smile, knowing that there was nothing she could do to deter his affections anyway.

Bamf!

"Did you feel that?!" Kurt exclaimed, also in his pyjamas, once he had found Kitty and the others, who were all standing now, on high alert. Kitty and Kurt received odd looks over their wardrobe choices, given that it was late in the afternoon. Seriously, didn't they have, like, more important things to worry about?

"What's with the jim jams?" Apparently Tabitha didn't think so. Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Kurt was upstate with Scott and Ororo last night on a rescue mission, and I was up working with Jean and the Professor." Kitty defended their apparel, but soon tried to refocus the group. "But that's, like, totally not the issue!"

"What could have had an effect like that, and all around the mansion too?" Jubilee asked getting back to the point.

"Not 'what'? Who?" Ray corrected her, contributing to the discussion.

"Oh, I know! A telep-!" Jamie volunteered but was cut short as just then each person in the room got a twinge in their minds, same as before the last incident. Everyone clutched their heads expecting the pain to happen again but it never did, instead came a message.

"_Sorry 'bout that! But now that Ah have your attention: Everyone suit up and head for the hanger!"_ A female and southern voice boomed through their minds loud and clear and faded just as fast. The teens were left staring at each other wide-eyed and confused wondering if what just happened really happened.

"Was that...?" Sam started to say as the first one to break the silence but couldn't finish his sentence in disbelief.

"Rogue..." Kurt finished for him, also shocked. The stunned silence was going on for so long it was nearly awkward. Tabitha hated these uncomfortable silences so she clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention back.

"Well, you heard her! Let's get moving!" They all instantly kicked in to action and headed down to the lower levels to do as Rogue asked.

oOo

Everything was going well. Sensing the turns and speed of the vehicle, she was at least going in the right direction. She had retracted all her claws a little while ago. Once she had settled in to her hiding place, she could feel that the gashes on her knuckles were still wide open, but at least they had stopped bleeding. They were about twenty minutes away from the institute now and Laura knew that she had to make a move, and soon.

Snikt! Snikt!

Decision made; she extended the four claws on her hands once more but recoiled from the sharp pain it caused. No sooner had she unsheathed her claws did the vehicle suddenly lurch and start to brake. She slammed side to side of the trunk as the SUV swerved to remain on the road. She was certain she had fractured some ribs from the rough misdirection. The final slam on the brakes and she was thrown forward by her own momentum.

Thump!

The car came to a full stop and everything was deadly silent. She started wondering if the girl who was driving had hit something or someone, and if she was still conscious or even alive. She smiled darkly to herself. That would make the next step easier.

She felt something shift in the weight of the vehicle and soft footsteps working their way around the vehicle. Damn. She still has to do something about that girl. She moved swiftly into an offensive stance, well the best one available to her given her location. She cursed the vulnerable position she placed herself in, considering she was up against a telekinetic mutant.

She faced the back door of the car ready to pounce at the first movement. However, her opponent had other ideas. Laura felt the car jerk forward all of a sudden of its own accord. She lost her footing as the floor tilted becoming increasingly more vertical. Gravity caused her to fall hard against the backdoor of the SUV, which was only being held in place by a thin strip of bandage fabric and will power. Her will power wasn't enough as she heard it slowly tearing. She dug her claws into the floor of the trunk for something to hang onto as the door gave way. It flipped open and most of her partially bandaged body fell out of the car and just dangled in mid-air, supported by her metal claws. She looked down and observed that she was at least forty feet up in the air above the road. The height would not kill her, then again, not many things would, but it would certainly hurt like hell. The large open road was empty; not a soul around save for one fiery red-headed woman, looking rather pleased with herself.

The SUV started to rotate slowly in the air so she had to keep turning her head every few seconds to keep eye contact with the other mutant. Jean looked deep into the space between them, her brow furrowed as it she was talking to someone that wasn't there. Probably contacting the Institute to tell them to come and get her. After a few moments of silence, Laura rolled her eyes and decided she had had enough of this. She growled to get the girls attention.

"Are you going to let me down?" Jean's eyes snapped to Laura's. She smiled; it was a smile of amusement and something darker. Laura knew it well, she wore that smile often. But she would never have expected to see it on the preppy red-head that she defeated so easily not that long ago and who helped take care of her in the infirmary in the early hours of this morning.

"**You could just let go..."** She told her darkly, taking some slight sadistic pleasure in messing with her.

"No thanks." Laura responded, momentarily distracted by her coldness. "Wouldn't want to ruin my outfit." She replied in a deadpan voice. Jean observed the girl's dusty tattered hospital gown and ripped and stained bandages. Her darker side laughed, amused by the little feral mutant's wit. Then she saw the nasty burn, completely exposed on her shin, and a pang of guilt hit her.

"Why were you in my car?" Jean asked, more concern showing in her voice. Laura spun her head again to catch her eyes, confusion evident on her features. The voice whispered to Jean once more.

"_**Have a look, and see for yourself**_..." It whispered. Jean cocked her head to one side as she stared at the girl from the distance. Laura stared back cautiously; she really had no idea what she would do next.

Jean floated up using her telekinesis to raise herself up to eye level with Laura. She waved her hand in front of her and Laura felt her claws disengage from the floor of the car but she did not fall. She saw the claw marks that she left behind in the metal and carpet 'heal' themselves and heard and saw the metal on the severed lock stretch and reform. The SUV moved through the air and was set down on the bitumen. Laura floated high in the air, Jean a safe distance away from her. Jean held up her hands out in front of her; if she had been closer, they would have been at either side of Laura's temples. She closed her eyes and Laura felt the gentle probing in her mind. The probing started getting uncomfortable, Laura growled at Jean to get her to stop. Jean opened her eyes at the sound, her eyes showing a flash of darkness.

"**You think I'm going to bring you back to the X-men."** She told her little feral friend what was on her mind.

"Aren't you?" Laura played along with the staring contest that had developed between them. Jean shrugged nonchalantly.

"**You're a big girl now. You can take care of yourself."** She slowly lowered them until they were only a foot of the ground. She released Laura from her telekinetic hold and they both dropped gracefully to the dirt beside the road. Laura made the mistake of hesitating to think before she acted. Not something one is recommended to do around a telepath. She raised her arm suddenly to strike at Jean with her claws, not believing that she wasn't going to just march her straight back to the Institute. Her hand froze in mid-air as if it was stuck. She raised the other and it too was stilled mid-swing. She growled.

"**Tut, tut, tut!"** Jean told her condescendingly. **"Don't worry; I'm not going to take you back there." **She informed her new found friend.

"I don't believe you!" She growled out as Jean started to walk around her.

"**Xavier's ****place is no good for you. You should be allowed to run free. You don't need them." **She told the other mutant like she was telling her a big secret.

"Them? You're one of them!" Jean just smiled as continued to walk around her. Laura was getting annoyed that she wasn't saying anything. "Why should I believe you? Why would you let me go?!"

"**I never said that I'd let you go?"** Laura's eyes widened. Jean laughed; she had no intention of the girl to take such an ominous meaning from her statement, much... She could read it loud and clear in the girl's mind. **"It just so happens that I'm going the same way."** Laura processed what she was saying slowly and cautiously.

"... Rochester?" Laura asked slowly, eyeing her carefully. Jean released her telekinetic hold on her once more, trying to show trust. This brought out the more reserved and concerned version of Jean momentarily.

"I have a first aid kit and clean clothes in the car." She added to sweeten the deal. "Believe me; I want to find out what happened to you and those people too." Jean tried to empathise with her, which only earned her the reward of Laura rolling her eyes at her pathetic attempts to establish a rapport with her. Jean's eyes narrowed.

"**And stop them before someone else gets hurt."** She added darkly. She had Laura's attention now. Laura grinned; a small smile for that promise of retribution. Jean nodded, having reached an understanding with the girl at last. The two turned and headed back to the vehicle to resume their journey.

oOo

_She fell to her knees clutching her head as the fog around her cleared. She filtered out Alex, then the Beast. She looked up with teary eyes at the one person left that she couldn't block out as he couldn't help projecting his thoughts to her in his frantic state._

"She'll never forgive me."_ He thought as his eyes connected with hers._

"Stop it!" She closed her eyes, hoping that would help. "Stop it!" She screamed at him, all her training now worth nothing. He was projecting too loudly. It was only making things worse in her mind. It was too much. She could handle his power now, she had that in control. But the new information, the new memories were too much. She felt something stir deep inside, another personality reacting to the information. Reacting badly; it wanted to be let loose and set free to show its wrath.

Alex had no idea what to do, the Beast ushered him out past the door to leave himself and Xavier to deal with this developing problem. Once Alex was out of the door, he turned back to the scene. Gambit rounded the corner, following the sounds of the drama only to act as another helpless witness to the silent scene.

"_Rogue! I'm sorry!"_ Xavier kept apologising over and over again, as another was in uproar within her mind.

"_Stop! I need to think!"_ She told him, still clutching her head and saying nothing, trying her best to lock away the personality that had been unhinged by him.

"_I didn't mean__ to..."_ He started to apologise again, not heeding her warnings.

"Stop it! Stop thinking!" She screamed at him out loud, tears falling down her cheeks from her tightly shut eyes. Xavier looked up at the Beast in alarm, Beast read his eyes loud and clear. Xavier wasn't projecting; Rogue was talking to the version of Xavier in her head. But did she know that?

"She'll never forgive you..." She whispered, Xavier's heart breaking as watched her battle and understood who she meant. He reached out a hand, down to the girl at his feet on the platform.

"Don't touch me!" She shrieked hoarsely, her voice cracking on the second word. She backed away violently at the suggested contact and tumbled over the edge of Cerebro's platform. Gambit and the Beast ran forward down the platform towards her.

Snikt! Snikt!

Rogue extended her claws on blind instinct and stabbed through some aluminium sheeting on the platform to prevent her fall. Beast and Gambit stood above her and were momentarily stunned, it being the first time either of them had witnessed her bone claws, but they kicked into action soon after. They each reached down to grab an arm and haul her up back to their level, careful not to snap her claws off in the metal and careful not to touch any exposed skin. The girl had been through enough; not to mention that if they made contact she'd probably knock them out and they'd drop her or fall also. So really, it was in everyone's best interest to be cautious.

Something clicked with her when she had used her claws. The chaos in her mind drifted back to only a normal level of insanity, but she was left feeling a little numbed by it all. She saw the Professor avoid eye contact with her, and Remy doing nothing but trying to make eye contact; concern etched in his features. He grasped her by her upper arms firmly, in case she jumped back again. She recalled from Xavier's thoughts just moments before she touched him what had happened with Cerebro and the bigger problem they had on their hands. She looked up, now recovered and back to herself.

Un-Snikt! Un-Snikt!

The Cajun flinched at the sound and sudden retraction of her claws. She didn't realise until she had let go that she had been holding on tightly to his elbows, claws and all. She brought her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes.

oOo

He stepped off the platform and onto the subway car, albeit a little nervously. He was not a fan of this mode of transportation much anymore. Different city but the same claustrophobia was developing, the only physical tells of his discomfort being his white knuckled grip of the pole by the door, where he was standing in a mildly urgent stance. Ironically, he had lost count of the number of times he's been nearly buried alive deep underground. Mild claustrophobia wasn't too bad a price to pay for his acts of stupidity or bravery in the past. He was dressed in his usual civilian attire on his way to meet his 'boss' and another 'colleague' in the heart of New York City about a job.

He should probably still be in school, and he would gladly go if he was still welcomed there, or even tolerated there. Looks of disgust, he was used to and for most of his life and he took them in his stride, but the looks of hatred were new and harder to ignore. He had a short temper and a powerful mutant ability. It was no surprise that he got kicked out... again. He wasn't up to a whole lot recently as a result, so this job would come in handy. At least he was going to get paid for this work, unlike previous gigs.

The subway train went past a few stops before he reached his destination. The doors on the car opened and he gladly left the confining space and followed the breeze of fresh air and natural light. He climbed the escalators and stairs to the outside world where he was greeted by another breeze and flash of silver hair.

"Finally, what took you so long?!" Pietro exclaimed to Lance, despite that he was actually early for once in his life.

"Hey, it takes time to make me this good looking." Lance replied in jest, gesturing to his 'I just rolled out of bed' look he was so fond of. Pietro rolled his eyes.

"She's waiting for us. Come on." He pointed his thumb in the right direction for their meeting place, towards Fifth Avenue. They started walking over and stopped at the pedestrian crossing waiting for the lights to change. Pietro was fidgeting as he was waiting for the lights to change, unaccustomed to staying still. He resisted the urge to sprint across to their destination, but didn't want to draw unwanted attention. Plus, Lance didn't know where they were headed, and he wasn't about to pick him up a run. He wasn't a courier service.

"Why us?" Avalanche asked Quicksilver, expecting him to know more about what was going on. He always did. But Lance had caught him off guard.

"Huh?" He replied, before rehearing the question in his head. "Oh, I guess Toad and Blob didn't quite 'fit the profile'." Pietro told him, thinking that air quotation marks explained everything. Seeing the confusion on Alvers face, he rolled his eyes. "Look, why don't you just wait a few minutes and have her explain it to you."

"Fine." They crossed the junction and walked briskly to the massive building that Pietro was directed to go to. As they approached what the huge store, Lance got the distinct impression that they did not belong. Well, Maximoff was going to fit right in. It was an extremely public meeting place, given their well known faces as mutants. Why would she want them to meet her here of all places? They approached the massive Armani Emporio and dared to step through the doors.

Immediately they were recognised as mutants by the store manager who alerted the security guards. Slowly they all started to approach them to quietly get them to leave. Pietro and Lance changed their stance to a slightly back to back positioning; only a suggestion of fight. Pietro could feel a slight tremor beneath his feet.

"They're with me." A commanding female voice carried through the air. All eyes snapped to a tall and beautiful business woman who had just entered behind them.

"Of course, Ms. Dion." The store manager replied straight away, clearly having experienced good business from this client before with a hint of fear in his voice. The security guards took the hint and quickly dispersed to resume their normal duties. The manager turned away from them to signal to his assistants to be attentive to this client's needs.

Pietro turned to smile at the woman who had prevented a scene from unfolding, however, Lance was still a little confused and it showed on his face. Ms. Dion smiled at his confusion and walked up to him.

"We have much to discuss, my young Avalanche..." Her eyes flashed amber as the meaning in her words sunk in.

**End of Chapter 20**


	21. Chapter 21

**A.N. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and the lovely reviews ye've been leaving! R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****1**

Something was wrong, well, something _else_ was wrong. It seemed to him that everything was going wrong recently. The team hadn't had to be a team since Apocalypse and everyone seemed to be distracted by their own personal problems lately. To send more kids out into this increasingly dangerous environment was reckless and irresponsible, but they haven't considered themselves as kids for a long time. Did he have the right to act the parent around them? Would protecting them now do them more harm or good down the line? He smiled as he was reminded a poem that answered his question for him; 'If I defer the grief, I diminish the gift'. But given the circumstances, what choices did they have? Finding Mr. Spears would hopefully bring them much needed answers. Establishing the connection between this toxin and the seemingly random mutant attacks was their highest priority. However, now they had a rogue student/teacher, a rogue patient and an unstable Rogue.

They had not seen her come in contact with anyone recently, not since Apocalypse. Given her bone claws, also new, she must have absorbed Logan a lot over the summer. Was she reacting badly due to a power overload or personality overload? Either way she was freaking out on the platform and they were clueless as to how to help her. They knew she had been training with Logan, but none of them knew what that training was to get her to regain her focus. Fortunately, on her own and for reasons unknown to him, she managed to get past whatever it was she needed to work through. She had calmed down fast and gained control of the Professor's power quickly enough, given her reaction to the unexpected touch and the power level she had absorbed. She even sent a telepathic message to everyone in the mansion. But that wasn't the 'something else was wrong' he was referring to.

This 'something else' that was wrong was that, despite his best efforts, he couldn't reach Logan on his communicator. Xavier was still at the console of Cerebro looking a little defeated. Rogue and Gambit were near-by on the platform. Remy was helping Rogue up to a standing position, keeping her in his arms to support her weight in case she needed him to. Hank put the communicator down to his side, hoping not to draw any attention to the extra bad news he had. But, alas, one cannot hide much from two telepaths on edge. Xavier and Rogue both turned to look at him, their necks almost snapping with the speed as his thoughts betrayed him.

"You can't-" Xavier started.

"-find him?" Rogue finished, eyebrows raised in alarm for Logan's safety.

The two drew odd looks from everyone in the room, including each other, and Forge who had just joined the group having heard the ruckus from the Danger Room. Beast looked down at the communicator in his hand.

"I'm not even getting a signal on his frequency," Hank admitted, "which leads me to believe that something has happened to Logan also." Rogue looked to Xavier in defiance of his persona in her head.

"Probably the same somethin' that took out Cerebro," Rogue hypothesised out loud to everyone in the room, not stopping at Xavier's little shake of the head to keep the next part to herself, if anything, she scowled at him. "Jean." She said simply. Xavier didn't let it show but he was aggravated that Rogue told everyone. But how did he expect it to be kept a secret for much longer given the current events unfolding before them. Rogue was taking charge of the scene however.

"Cerebro's out. We wanna find any of 'em then we gotta do it the ol' fashioned way; look." She was about to elaborate further but she looked into Gambit's eyes at the last word, looking like she just remembered something. She furrowed her brow as she looked at him, then at Forge. She detached herself from his hold and walked out towards the hangar where she had told everyone to assemble. More than just Remy were left looking after her in confusion.

oOo

They were getting closer, she could smell it. In fact they were so close, Laura was sure she could see the burnt remains of the house in the distance. However, Jean drove past the street where it was to park a safe and inconspicuous distance away. Laura was impressed; the girl wasn't a total idiot. She had at least some tactical training.

"Thanks, but I kinda read that from you." Jean informed her, tapping her temple to illustrate her point. "And I'm not an idiot, either way." Jean responded mechanically, in a deadpan tone, as she drove.

"Stay outta my head." Laura growled. Jean said nothing in reply. Laura looked over at her from the passenger seat, trying to figure out what she was thinking. She had been sickeningly sweet since they sat back into the car, all traces of malice gone from her voice. It drove her nuts.

They stopped the car and got out. Jean looked over at Laura. She had changed into the gear that Jean had and redressed some of her wounds during their journey. Most of the burns had fully healed at this stage so only two or three required attention. The clothes she was wearing were a combination of whatever was in Jean's car. Some parts were from spare X-men uniforms Jean had in the back, the rest came from Jean's Bayville Sirens outfit that she kept in the SUV as a spare change of clothes. She wore knee high X-boots and dark pants and X-belt. Gloves covered where her claws erupted and were black, perfect for hiding any red staining from her slower than normal healing. She had a dark top under a sleeveless dark green jacket that complemented her deeply tanned skin. She looked tough and felt more like herself, or so Jean picked up from her. Jean was dressed in her civilian clothes for walking around in broad day light.

They reached the house by foot in no time. They looked around for anyone that maybe watching. Laura sniffed the air, whereas Jean did a quick mental scan; no one. They approached quickly and crossed under the police tape surrounding the property swiftly. Laura immediately retraced her steps into the house to see it any scents remained of those she had fought and those she had protected. Unfortunately, fire destroyed everything and harmonised the scents. Jean followed in behind her and relived the memories she took from her in the actual place that they happened. She knelt at the place where Laura fell, whereas Laura went to the spot where Esther had died but only stood there for a moment before returning to the outside.

"Where are you going?" Jean asked, trying not to read her mind out of courtesy, and respect for what happened here.

"There's nothing left here, we're wasting our time!" She snapped back as she walked around the yard and sniffed around and then growled ferociously. "There's nothing left! Whatever wasn't destroyed by the fire was washed away by the fire hoses or rain!"

Snikt!

Laura released one pair of claws and slashed at the charcoaled wood panelling on the side of the house. Jean stepped out to her and tried to calm her down lest she draw unwanted attention.

"Hey, look-" She reached out a hand to touch her on the shoulder but Laura spun around and slashed out in anger at her offered arm. Jean reacted in time to avoid serious injury from the Adamantium claws but not in time to avoid injury completely. Two long slashes were left down the outside of her upper left arm, cutting through her long sleeved shirt and her X-men uniform that she wore underneath.

Her skin was barely scratched but instinctively, Jean pushed her away strongly with a force field as darkness flashed in her eyes. Laura caught herself before she fell over and realised what she had done to the other girl but made no effort to apologise for the injury she caused. Jean grabbed her own arm where Laura had cut it. Laura thought she was recoiling from the pain but it seemed to be more like inner turmoil that Jean was dealing with, but she soon shrugged it off. They eyed each other for a moment.

"Let's go." Jean told her simply and calmly as she turned to leave the property. Laura stood her ground.

"Where?" She demanded to know before she would follow.

"To where we might find answers." Jean stopped walking to turn to Laura. "We can't figure out where they were taken based on what's left of here, but we could try to find out who knew to take them." Jean told the other girl. Laura thought about what she had seen and over-heard from 'Jan' and Esther's interaction that night.

"That girl, 'Jan', was coming back from a college party." Laura told Jean as she remembered the details of that night. Laura could feel herself becoming angrier and more aggressive as she thought, remembering that 'Jan' had said that she had ratted the other girl out as a mutant to someone, 'by accident'.

"Exactly." Jean confirmed, knowing from the memories she had seen from Laura's mind about the night of the attack. "So, we find out where and when that party was and simply ask around." Yeah, really felt the retribution part now. Laura, once more, rolled her eyes at the girl's preppy and optimistic attitude on life. She had way too much faith in people doing the right thing. Going around asking questions without using claws would be no help.

"**Unless you're a telepath."** Jean told her, reading her thoughts, her bolder side emerging once more.

"Stop doing that!" Laura shouted at her, getting annoyed by the mind reader. But the mind reader was enjoying her view on the situation and on life.

"**If either of us can't find the answers we're looking for, then maybe we'll draw the attention of the 'right' people."** Jean offered darkly.

Laura smiled; she liked the idea of that gambit.

oOo

The real Gambit was flicking his cards from hand to hand, leaning against the side of the X-chopper. Rogue paced the ground near him, arms crossed, waiting for the others to file in slowly. He watched her pacing as the others congregated. She rubbed her temple.

"Hope Ah'm not thinkin' too loud for ya, chere." Remy said out loud, gaining her attention. She looked over to him and he grinned back. "Wouldn't wanna be givin' you a headache now." He winked to her, trying to make light of her troubles. She smirked back to him.

"Wouldn't accuse you of thinkin' much, Gambit." She responded cheekily in jest, grateful for the temporary distraction. She looked at him again, and her brow furrowed before looking away. Gambit wondered if she was reading something from him that troubled her. Knowing his past, it was likely. He didn't exactly like the idea of anyone snooping around in his head but that said, she might not be able to help it. He would just have to keep his mind on more pleasant things. He watched her resume her pacing as his gaze drifted down a bit.

"Hey!" She snapped at him. His eyes met hers again; he smirked unapologetically, she blushed innocently. Nearly everyone else had finished assembling all suited up and ready for action in the hangar. Kurt approached her as soon as he saw her.

"Rogue, are you alright?" He asked, full of concern and worry. Rogue was quick to put him at ease.

"Yeah, Kurt, Ah'm fine." Rogue assured him as Kitty made her way over to them.

"Who did you, like, 'pick up' the telepathy from? Jean?" She asked, curiosity killing the Kitty.

"No, Ah got it from the Professor." She replied, earning her raised eyebrows as their response. "It was an accident." She added quickly. The Professor wheeled in behind everyone with Alex, Forge and the Beast. Kitty looked around once everyone had assembled, a thought striking her.

"Hey, aren't we totally missing, like, half the mansion?" Kitty looked between Rogue and the Beast and Xavier, who were each looking at each other wondering where to start.

oOo

Nausea and vomiting - check.

Temporary deafness - check.

Cardiac palpitations - check.

Unilateral headache - check.

Shakiness and shivering - check.

Sudden high fever - check.

Respiratory problems - check.

Photophobic and double vision - check.

Local inflammatory reaction and itchy rash - check.

They had to get the doctor back in here. This patient was not doing too well; something would have to be done before she goes the same way as all the others with this list of symptoms. The woman wore a biohazard suit as she examined the patient's vitals. The young girl had passed out hours ago from whatever disease or infection she had caught. She had been working in this facility for a while now, but was never down in this department in the lower levels. She was one of a bunch of people drafted in from upstairs because they were short staffed. She was running between two patients while the other draftee nurses had one to three patients each, numbers delegated according to the severity of each case. She was taken aback by it all as she never had to deal with anything like this before. But she quickly stepped up to the plate and put on her game face. And, as tragic as it was that these people were ill, it was giving her excellent experience and had broken up her usual routine.

She had been watching her and a few other patients she had in that night and she was one of the worst they had. Her heart rate had fluctuated a few times, now it seemed to have steadied off a little. She checked her temperature. It was up again. She checked the settings on the artificial lung that was breathing for her; she had been intubated a few hours ago. She signalled for assistance to whoever was behind the mirrored walls. She knew someone was there. There was always someone watching each of these patients. Not unusual for the most extreme case of the CDC in the country. The fact that this outbreak of, whatever it was, had occurred in a psychiatric facility only made the situation more worrying. Most of the patients she had seen here were already delirious and paranoid; it was difficult to tell what was a symptom of the disease and what was normal, for them.

Suddenly the young woman's body jerked against the restraints and as her heart rate increased dramatically on the monitor. The trainee nurse pushed the emergency call button next to her patient's bed. Two large men in bio-hazard suits entered after the senior doctor down there, dressed in the same get up. In fact, she was the only doctor down there that she had seen. The men held her from thrashing about as the doctor checked her vitals. She suddenly went limp as the heart monitored went into tachycardia; she was ready with the defibrillator for the doctor.

"Charge to two hundred!" The doctor shouted, her slight Hispanic accent coming through stronger than she had heard before. She set the machine to charge as prescribed. The doctor placed the paddles on the patient's chest professionally.

"Clear!" The doctor shouted, she backed away swiftly, the other two not as efficiently causing the nurse to wonder just how much training or experience they had had.

Fzzump!

The patient and heart monitor flinched in response to the electrical stimulus but not enough to correct the rhythm.

"Charge to three hundred!" She did as asked. "Clear!" She prepared again for another electrical discharge.

Fzzump!

Beeeeeeeep!

She was flat lining. The doctor sighed and looked at the digital clock near some of the equipment.

"Time of death; sixteen fifty-three." And just like that, she put the paddles back on the stand. The young nurse stood there in disbelief that the doctor barely made an effort to save her. She nearly said something until she looked at the still patient. She suffered greatly, but it was over now. She reached over to switch off the monitors. The other two would move the remains. She turned and left the room. She walked down a shared corridor to the room of her other patient.

She changed her gloves, entered her room and took one quick look at the monitors before picking up the chart to fill in the data that she read from them. The patient was doing better. She was sleeping soundly now, having displayed less severe symptoms than her other patient; just an angry localised rash that was diminishing and some nausea. She was muttering things in her sleep, however. She leaned closer to see if it was anything coherent but all she heard were broken distressed syllables in a frantic tone.

"Eh... Whas... Ree... Ess..."

**End of Chapter 21**

A.N. Right, can any one name the poem Beast was thinking of at the start? It's not important to the story - ish, but's it's a good poem. Shout out to Silverwolf77 who's been kind enough to answer some questions on what High School is like over there as I do not have first hand knowledge myself. Thank you!!!

Now, back to the story! Are people liking the Jean and Laura banter? Anyone miss Logan in this chapter? Dark and scary hospital, eh? Hit the review button! RR


	22. Chapter 22

**A.N. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and the lovely reviews ye've been leaving! R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****2**

"Powr-8?" Ray asked. Xavier nodded in affirmation of his query.

"Scott and Ororo took the others to find Guy Spears a few hours ago." Xavier informed the group as to the whereabouts of the rest of the team. There were a few moments silence before Ray started rubbing his neck, wondering whether or not to speak his mind. Rogue nodded in encouragement to him, sensing his distress. He sighed and decided to ask away.

"No offense, Professor, but if this stuff kills people shouldn't we be looking for a cure." Hank and Xavier looked at each other, apparently not having thought about that having been so distracted by its use as a weapon and that Laura was slowly fighting the affects of the poison on her own without assistance. Hank was the next to speak.

"If I could be spared from this excursion, I could begin the research." Xavier nodded, agreeing that it should be a high priority. "But honestly I don't know where to start."

"Callisto!" Ray said suddenly. "The Morlocks had some remedy for its affects; they used it on Spyke." Ray shrugged: "It's as good a start as any."

"Very well; Hank, take Berserker and Multiple Man. Track down Spyke and the Morlocks in the sewers, see what they have. Forge will stay here to work on repairing Cerebro." Xavier delegated to the people around him. "Everyone else will come with me in the X-Chopper to Rochester. We must find Jean and X-23." People started to move until Rogue spoke up.

"Wait, what good is having Cerebro workin' without a telepath to operate it?" She challenged Xavier.

"It's true, Professor. The team in L.A. are flying blind with Cerebro down as it is; you need to be ready to get them the information they need." Hank joined Rogue's opinion. Forge's eyes started darting between Rogue and Xavier, the tension was palpable.

"I already had a quick look at it, Professor. I think I could have Cerebro ready within the hour." He contributed hesitantly but optimistically.

"Uh, Professor? I don't think that I'm qualified to fly the helicopter alone?" Kurt spoke up from the crowd in his accented English. Xavier looked to Hank, but he was the only one with the know how to figure out a cure for the poison and Xavier couldn't in all good conscience suggest that they put it on hold. He looked to Gambit. Gambit shrugged.

"I have many skills, mon ami, but flyin' dat thing ain't one of 'em." Remy replied in his usual charming tone.

"Let me do it." All eyes turned to Rogue.

"Rogue, apart from the basics, you have never trained to fly." Xavier informed her in a level tone.

"You're right, Ah haven't. But Scott, Ororo, Logan, Mystique, Hank and even you, Professor, have." She tapped her temple for them to get the idea. Gambit stared at her, amazed at how many people she had absorbed in the past. It left him wanting to know more on how her powers really worked. Xavier stared at her for a moment. He could sense that the others thought he was momentarily taken aback by her forwardness, but other thoughts were occupying his mind. Since Apocalypse 'wiped her slate clean' a few months back, he thought the only personalities she had absorbed where that of Gambit, Leech, Logan and himself that very day. Was it possible that she retained the knowledge from each personality after they were driven out or did they simply never leave her? Either way, Logan's persona or his own should give her enough knowledge to fly.

"Very well." He said finally. "Get to Rochester. Find Jean and Laura. Jean isn't thinking straight so approach with caution. Rogue, you will have to track their scents unless we get a read from Cerebro." Thinking that that was the end of the conversation, people started to move in the appropriate directions before Rogue suddenly had something to add.

"Wait! What about Logan? Wherever he is, we can't just leave 'im there!" Rogue asked, suddenly remembering his non-contactable problem.

"Hopefully, he'll contact us. Otherwise, we will simply have to wait until Cerebro is working again." Xavier told her, Rogue started getting anxious.

"Or, Ah can track him now." She tried. Xavier shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Rogue. Finding Laura and Jean is more important. You're the only one who can track them, besides Logan." Rogue was about to protest further until she felt Nightcrawler put a hand on her shoulder to sedate her.

"Don't worry, Rogue. After all, it's Logan!" Kurt told his sister, patting her on the back. Rogue relented.

"Okay, just hold your horses." She told her team. "Ah need to grab my uniform." She turned to run to the locker room quickly. The rest started climbing into the helicopter.

"I can promise, Cheri, we won't leave without you!" Gambit called after her as he climbed in, smiling to himself. Sam and Tabitha were climbing in after him.

"But, isn't she the pilot?" Sam asked Tabitha quietly in his strong southern tone. Tabitha rolled her eyes.

"He was joking, Cannonball." Sam looked down, and silently said 'Oh...' in embarrassment to himself.

As Rogue ran past Xavier, she sent him a telepathic note as the last of his powers faded from the touch, from her immediate use.

"_When this is all over, we need to talk."_ Xavier tried not to let it show on the outside that he had heard anything from her, but inside he was dreading that conversation.

oOo

Thump... thump... thump... thump!

The pounding of blood in his head was excruciating. He could hear nothing other than that. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn he had no limbs. However, the tell tale pain of dislocated shoulders, clean broken wrists and one dislocated hip told him otherwise. He coughed a few times to clear his lungs of warm blood. He twisted his body to shift from lying face down on the ground to lying on his back which didn't hurt as much. As he moved he felt the dislocated leg and shoulder on the left pop back in simultaneously, courtesy of his healing factor.

"Gaagh!" He cried out, causing him to choke and cough more as the pain numbed in his joints and let him focus on his other injuries. He used his recently reattached arm to feel around for further injury as he couldn't open his eyes. He felt to his other arm and grabbed in roughly.

Cri-Click!!

He kept silent apart from a deep growl, as his other shoulder was shifted back into its rightful position. He let his left hand fall back to his chest, feeling a hot and sticky layer of cut and crushed shin repairing itself. His hand moved over his abdomen and he knew he had organs re-growing. His healing factor was really getting a workout this week. He felt his face and could feel the exposed metal cheek bones and an eye out of its socket. He pushed it back in and tried to move again but couldn't. Muscles have been shredded and torn from the bone on his legs. He opened his good eye a slit and could see what looked like a spleen lying on the road among the debris of...

God dammit! Not the bike! He growled in a mix of pain and anger. Now that really hurt!

He closed his eye again and just let his head rest on the tarmac, baking in the sun as his healing factor took care of the wreckage of his body. He thought he heard something over the ringing in his ears and pounding of the vessels in his head. He sniffed the air, and over the coppery smell of his own blood he could swear he was smelling brimstone. He would have put it down to an olfactory hallucination until he felt small arms sneak under his shoulders. Surprisingly strong, they dragged him over the side of the road under the shade of a tree. Her scent engulfed him.

"Deja vu, kid?" He was finally able to open his eyes fully, and confirm her presence. Cheesy as it was, she was a sight for sore eyes. She propped him up against the base of the tree and knelt directly in front of him as she looked him over. Her white locks fell in front of her face as usual, almost blocking her pale green eyes from his rich blue ones.

"Yeah, you're a mess again!" She told him teasingly once she decided his healing factor was fixing the damage fast enough.

"How'd you find me?" He coughed out.

"Like Ah said this mornin'; Adamantium's like a homing beacon. Plus, I figured you were headin' in the direction of Rochester." He was mostly listening until he saw the claw puncture marks in her gloves.

"Skewer someone while I was gone?" He asked as he reached for her hand painfully, but then decided not to strain himself. She frowned but shrugged it off.

"It's a long story." She sighed as she changed the topic of conversation back to him. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, just gimme a minute, kid." She stood up from him.

"Good, here's my cell." She chucked her cell phone down onto the grass next to him. "Call the Professor, he'll pick you up." She told him. He was genuinely surprised.

"Wait! You not gonna take me back with you?" He asked, frowning in confusion.

"Can't." He rolled his eyes. "Like Ah said, it's a long story. Xavier's already lookin' for you. I just wanted 'im ta find you quick." She paused before she teleported away. "Hey Logan?"

"Yeah, Stripes?" He responded, a little grumpy at the thought of being abandoned here.

"Ah'm glad you're okay." She said quietly.

Bamf!

She disappeared in a cloud of brimstone dust and smoke, leaving Logan behind with a small smile, easing the pain.

oOo

He looked out the slide away door, wondering what was taking her so long. Finally he saw her running back to the helicopter shoving her uniform in to a backpack as he felt the chopper blades start to turn. Nightcrawler was starting up the chopper for Rogue. She reached the hatch; Gambit extended a hand politely to help her onboard.

"What took you so long, Cheri?" She took his hand and let him pull her up swiftly.

"Had to check on somethin'." She smiled innocently at him before stepping away towards the pilot seat. Before sitting she took off the backpack and chucked it back to him. Of course, he caught it. "Lock the hatch and strap in!" Rogue took her seat next to Nightcrawler. Behind her sat Shadowcat, Boom Boom, Cannonball and Jubilee. Gambit was the last to take his seat after he secured the hatch.

Rogue looked out the window to where the Professor and the Hank were waiting for them to have a successful take-off. She saw Xavier suddenly reach for a phone in his pocket and answer it. Rogue smiled, and while she looked distracted, Cannonball looked worried.

"She knows what she's doin', righ'" Sam said quietly to Jubilee. Suddenly the craft lifted up into the air with a lurch, but an intentional lurch.

"Just keep thinking happy thoughts..." Jubilee answered him, also a little nervous.

oOo

He was leaned over the magnifying glass, absolutely exhausted. The sweat was dripping down his brow but he wiped his forehead with his sleeve efficiently. The years started to show painfully on his visage, his brow furrowed in concentration accenting the lines on his face. His eyes were hurting from the strain. His eyes glowed yellow as he stared in dedicated focus on the derma chip he was dissembling slowly and painfully with his powers.

He had not been able to reactivate any of the pieces he collected without the eye of ages as a power source and without Apocalypse himself. But he was not deterred by this. If anything, if drove him further to prove to the world that there was no mutant more powerful than him. If he could figure out this technology and yield it then no one could touch him. He would become the undisputed ruler of the world, over humans and mutants alike.

Not all of the components were metallic so he had to use very careful tools on the parts that he could not manipulate. However, if it weren't for his powers he doubted he would have been able to take it apart at all. The tools for doing so he was sure had not been invented yet. He recorded every move he made and every part, however microscopic, he touched. He had an expert knowledge on mutant technology, more so than anyone else in the world with the exception of Xavier, Forge and maybe even Hank McCoy. As much as most of the technology baffled him, a few microscopic components held an eerie familiarity to them.

He had already recognised some of the solder and connecting wires to be that of Adamantium, it's was as easy to spot with his powers as a Giant Red Wood among a field of poppies. That in itself would have been unusual and enough to gain his attentions and interests. But the parts he recognised; on their own they were harmless - typical of any communications device, but the way they were connected he had only ever seen once before. He knew without a doubt where he had seen it before, for he and another were the ones who invented it. It was the sequencing required for the cerebral interface in Cerebro.

He moved the magnifying glass over the piece in question to allow for a closer look. As he leaned in to view the piece, mostly disassembled as it was, it vibrated slightly but then died. He jumped at the movement and looked around the room at all his other pieces as they too started coming to life just as suddenly. His eyes grew in alarm, not knowing what was making this happen. Just as suddenly, each piece returned to its previous inactive state.

His heart was in over drive. The implications of such activity were as exciting as they were terrifying. Something had made them come to life, or someone. He had to find whatever it was. Such power was his and only his to behold, and he would let nothing get in his way.

oOo

She knocked on the door and waited all of two seconds before her patience wore thin. She used her mutant powers to release the lock on the door, and let the door swing open. She walked through the small house and tried to sense where her mentor was. A beautiful black cat purred and rubbed it's back around her legs where she stood. She looked down at it, honing her abilities and reining in her anger long enough to greet the cat with a rub behind the ears, causing the volume of the purring to double.

"Where is she?" She asked the cat. The cat looked at her like it had understood and walked away through the house and out the cat flap on the back door. She followed. She push open the unlocked door to the beautiful garden. It was small, but the space was utilised well. Herbs and flowers grew in the neatly arranged beds, with tall and old trees, oaks and silver birch, framing the area. The trees were old enough to hold almost as much wisdom as the owner of the house held.

"You are wrong, my child. They hold more." Agatha Harkness revealed herself from the garden, drawing Wanda's attention to her from the beautiful garden. She looked old, but no older than the last time she saw her. "Nature can bring peace to even the most troubled soul." She told Wanda in her soothing tone.

"Not today." Wanda told her, anger seething once more. Agatha could see and feel the hate rising within her. Agatha would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't disappointed. There was so much more to life, if only she was willing to let go and see it. "I have to find him, Agatha."

"It will bring you no peace." She told her honestly. But relented and led her to a wooden table and chairs for them to combine their mystical energy. They sat and concentrated. Wanda lent her powers and energy to Agatha, who was an expert and trained mage. They sat for a while before anything happened. Suddenly, Agatha took in a sharp breath.

"Your father is on the other side of the world, but he will come to you." She told her. Wanda opened her eyes to see Agatha looking directly at her. "Your hate will be your downfall, if you let it. Peace will save you." Wanda broke the contact between their powers, having heard enough.

"I can handle whatever comes my way, regardless." Wanda got up to leave, when Agatha suddenly grabbed her arm, her hold the icy grip of death.

Wanda met her eyes, they were white and glowing. She issued to her a grave warning:

"Ná bí cinnte, cailín, mar a bheidh an fear reabhaich ag teacht arís..." *

**End of Chapter 22**

A.N. an actual serious author's note this time guys regarding that phrase up there so,

*The pronunciation of Agatha's ominous warning:

**Naw bee kin~tah, col~leen, marr ah v~egg on far rev~uck egg ch~oct ah~reesh**...

Yeah, okay, so I have no idea if Agatha is Irish or not but her phrase in the Hex Factor sounded Irish-ish although I couldn't make heads nor tails of it except for 'cailin' (girl), so she may have been speaking Welsh or Scottish, but when she spoke English it had a non-accent for me which led me to believe that they were going for Munster Irish or Connaught Irish....

So, the translation.... Yeah, I'm not gonna translate for ye, but I'm sure extensive google-ing would translate it for ye eventually if ye really must know: but it does make sense with respect to the story. I will reveal it eventually though... :)

Well done, Janieshi, for correctly identifying the poem that Beast quoted in the last chapter, it was "The Pomegranate" by Eavan Boland! If you've never heard of it, it does display a theme that I'm trying to portray in this story just a little.

Yeah, so Logan was abandoned at the side of the road like an injured puppy... Was that a bit cruel? Review!


	23. Chapter 23

**A.N. Woot! Over 6000 hits!!!!!! Much thanks to all who have been reading! I'm loving the reviews also! Here's a slightly longer than usual chapter for ya! R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****3**

"I'm sorry, Logan. I know how much you loved her." The Beast told him, with a consoling pat on the shoulder. Although he never expressed his love for her in words, it was there in his eyes, in his threats and every raised voice about her. Jamie looked at him with pleading hope in his eyes on Logan's behalf.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Jamie bargained with Hank.

"No." The Beast sighed. "No, it's too late." He gave his clinical judgement on the mess lying before him. Logan growled in frustration and anger and hurt.

"Don't say that, Hank!" He shouted at him. "I can't hear that." He said more quietly to himself.

"Logan, you'll have to move on, you'll find another just like her someday." Beast told him quietly, to which Logan shrugged defeated.

"No. I won't. She was unique, a beauty." Logan sighed, looking at her mangled bodywork. "Custom-made..." He whispered heart-broken.

Flecks of gold and red were among the bits of metal and shredded rubber on the road; Jamie and Jamie and Jamie stepped over the components. Logan crawled into the back of the X-Van, aided by the Beast and various copies of Multiple Man. Ray looked in the rear view mirror at his mutilated but healing face. The Beast looked behind and cast one last look at the barely recognisable remains that used to be Logan's motorcycle scattered on the road and sighed.

"There's nothing we can do about it." Beast continued on despite Logan's low growl. "We must go where we're needed." Beast concluded as they finished loading themselves into the van, taking off in the direction of Bayville.

oOo

She walked behind her like a pet. She hated it. She felt that it was degrading. Logically, it made sense. And even though no one was looking at her, she still didn't like it. Jean walked in front, blending in with all the other freshmen as she strolled around campus. The only thing that separated her from the other newbies was that she wasn't lost. She was picking up all kinds of information about the college and people and social scene as she was walking from every passer-by, making look as effortless as breathing.

Laura would not fit in as well, looking obviously younger than the average starter. Between them they devised a plan. Jean would hide Laura telepathically from anyone that took notice of her as long as Laura stayed close. If they found a lead, Laura was free to do as she pleased with them, suggesting all manners of ways to get someone to talk.

Jean carried on scanning the minds of everyone she passed. A young guy, looking like death warmed up, was approaching her and was giving her a headache as he got closer.

"_Oh, God! Why did I drink so much? I always over do-"_

She mentally batted away his thoughts as a girl about her own age over took her on the sidewalk.

"_So if that was three hundred and fifty calories and the French __toast this morning was-"_

Again, information she wasn't interesting in hearing. A bunch of guys, clearly jocks, passed her by and she nearly slapped them for their thoughts. She shook her head free of their thoughts and spotted a crowd of students gathered in the main quad. Clubs and societies stands were scattered throughout looking for new members for the academic year. Among them, were Sorority and Fraternity stands looking for new blood.

As Jean was staring out onto the quad trying to decide where to go first for answers, she picked up on the thoughts of some guy who was fast approaching.

"_...totally have to pledge for that Frat! The parties are supposed to be __awesome! Almost as good as that Sorority one a few nights ago-" _

"Whoa!" He yelped.

Jean squinted for a second and used her telekinetic powers to discretely cause the guy to trip as he was going past her, tumbling onto the grass. Jean was quick to act, putting on her most charming front she rushed to help him up. Laura stayed out of the way until she knew where Jean was going with this.

"Hey, are you okay?" She came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and helped him sit up. He seemed a bit dazed but happy to see a pretty face taking notice of him, even if it was because of his ridiculously uncoordinated limbs.

"Am, yeah. Thanks..." He scratched his head and stood up looking around for his backpack and scattered books. He was her own age and kind of cute in her opinion. He was no Scott Summers though. Jean saw him looking for his books while she was listening in on his thoughts.

"Here, let me help!" Jean said reaching for a few of the books closest to her from the grass. He picked up his backpack. She offered him the books and tried to strike up a conversation.

"Hey, didn't I see you at that party the other night?" She took a shot on the off-chance that her bluff would pay-off so she wouldn't have to search too hard for the information. He struggled to remember, most of the night was a blur up until he got thrown out, but decided to just be polite.

"Oh, yeah, maybe?" _"She's a Sigma Delta Psi? She looks like one I guess..."_ "Are you a member?"

"Of Sigma Delta Psi? No, but I was thinking of pledging." Jean kept up the charade even though she had found the name she was looking for. She handed him back the last book from the ground. She felt Laura getting impatient behind her so instead of letting the conversation come to a natural end she mentally told him to resume his course as before and to forget her completely. As he walked away, Laura walked up to Jean and talked to her over her shoulder. She was still weary of this 'being psionically hidden' idea, not trusting it or her completely.

"You got something?" Laura asked quietly from behind.

"I think I'm going to pledge with Sigma Delta Psi..." Jean told her like she was talking to a college buddy. Luara's eyes snapped to where Jean was staring and found a stand colourfully decorated and surrounded by over-enthusiastic sorority girls. Jean would fit right in. Laura rolled her eyes, hoping this was going somewhere; hopefully, somewhere where claws were acceptable.

Jean walked past a few stands before approaching the Sigma Delta Psi stand, picking up flyers from each one to look like someone who was indecisive and in need of persuasion. She scanned the thoughts of the group at the stand she was heading for, picking up details; names, ages, years and classes they were taking, extra-curricular activities and hobbies. She was looking for what they all had in common with each other and what they were looking for in a pledge.

She had to scan through a lot of useless information to get what she needed. She walked up to the stand in question, and picked up a flyer while she waited to talk to one of the girls. The first girl to notice her was nearly as tall as her with rich mahogany skin and short black hair revealing a kind face.

"Hi." _"I love her necklace; I wonder where she got it." _"You're looking to pledge?" She asked her once she had her attention. _**"Her name is Honor; majoring in Linguistics. Good student; aptly named." **_Jean relaxed into the role of the confident but slightly uncertain college freshman.

"Yeah, I think Sigma Delta Psi is really for me." She told her as another girl as tall but with long curly blond hair turned to join in their conversation.

"But are you for Delta Psi?" _"She won't last the week."_ The new girl thought, challenging her. _**"Sara, majoring in Economics - doesn't think her mathematic skills are as strong as the rest of her classmates." **_The other girl rolled her eyes at her sorority sister's antics.

"_Why does she always try to scare them off?__ But she has a point." _"So, what makes you think that you belong to our hou-?"

"_**You don't belong with them and you don't have time for this." **_Laura watched Jean's dark side flash through her eyes as suddenly the two girls became very compliant. Laura listened in on the conversation from a distance. It was as if the discussion soundtrack had been skipped on a beat.

"-Oh, wait! Was I talking to you at our house party?" Honor rapidly changed the topic as Sara suddenly showed recognition also.

"_**If you were alone with them, you could get the information faster."**_ _"No, I won't I hurt them just because I'm impatient, they're innocent!" __**"Correction; might be innocent... They wouldn't remember, anyway..." **_Jean ignored the comments made by her inner monologue (well, dialogue) to focus on what she was doing.

"Yeah, I came with a girl I know from home that goes here." Jean planted an image of her and Janette arriving to the party in their minds, based on what she saw from Laura's memories.

"Oh, you're Jan's friend!" Sara exclaimed, now having warmed to Jean. The image of Janette started off a chain reaction of snap shots and thoughts from the night from both girls. They confirmed that it was definitely the party that she was at and that she had, somehow, gotten drunk that night. She couldn't pick up anything sinister from the girls, however.

"Yeah! That party was great!" Jean kept scanning their thoughts to find a way to turn the conversation to her advantage. "I got talking to some people and kinda lost her for most of the night, but she seemed to have a good time." That worked. It didn't spark anything for Honor, but Sara remembered a snap of her talking to a tall blond guy later in the night - but his back was turned and Sara thought nothing of it at the time so the details were a little fuzzy. But still, something about him was familiar to Jean. Another girl from the sorority turned when she realised they were talking about her party. _**"Emily, new head of house - organised said party."**_

"Who, Jan? Totally, she was having a great time!" She announced proudly, soaking up the good feedback from her party. She changed her tone quickly though to a whisper for gossip. "Although, I think she was hitting on a freshman! Honestly, I don't know how he got in. He was cute though..." Emily started thinking of him as she talked and conjured up a very detailed image of him for Jean. Jean knew him alright, and started feeling ill. "Oh, I think that's him over there!" Emily nodded her head quietly and discretely to a man matching the description standing by another stand in the grass.

Jean followed her finger to Duncan Mathews, who was talking and laughing with his newly acquired friends standing under the stand's banner which had a symbol splashed across it. She looked down to the flyers she had amassed in her hand. She dropped all but the one with the same symbol. It stood for 'Purity'.

oOo

He looked like he belonged. He wore overalls and had the look of a man who had to work hard every day of his life. It was true, Piotr Rasputin was never simply handed anything. He carried a ladder around with him as he wandered around the site. Roberto followed behind him, carrying something seemingly too heavy for his size to make it look like he was a hard worker and belonged there too. A beautiful red wolf sniffed along the outskirts of the property discretely, not being noticed by the two security guards at the front gate as they were watching the guy with the ladder and the straggler. Well, one of the two was watching - the other was devoting his attention to the online Los Angeles Times Sudoku games.

"Have you seen them before?" The taller of the two security guards said to the other. The other turned and looked.

"Nope. Guess they came in on the morning shift." The other shrugged. The taller, more suspicious, of the two continued to stare.

"What are they doing?" He asked as he watched them enter the main administration building.

"Who knows? Probably just sprucin' the place up for that head honcho, 'case he shows up." His co-worker did a double take.

"Mr. Spears is in town?" He almost stuttered his words in surprise, nervous of the boss he never met being new to the job.

"Where have you been?" The other questioned in mock horror before returning to his daily dose of Sudoku and Horoscopes. The taller guy paused, as if he was considering something.

"Do you think we should straighten out our office?" The other rolled his eyes. The red wolf disappeared in to the woods, transformed into a young girl and picked up her com device.

"Sunspot, have ye found his office yet?" She whispered through into Roberto's ear piece.

"_Not yet__ but nearly..." _Roberto's voice came over the static.

"Storm, Ay heard the security guards talkin'. Spears is in still town 'n' has no' visited this plant but might yet."

"_Good work__, Wolfsbane."_ Storm replied from above, flying high in the sky. _"Stand by..."_

Ororo was a little nervous. They had not heard back from the Professor since they had just taken off. She thought they would have more to go on by now. If she had known that they were going for stealth and secrecy when they got here, she would have brought Kitty or Jean, students with more discrete powers. The team she had chosen were more for in case they had trouble obtaining Guy Spears, more offensive powers. But to be fair, they were doing well.

They had landed the jet a little while ago. It was broad day light in the industrial area where Longbeach and Los Angeles met. Storm had insisted that most of the team dress casually, in case anyone spotted them. Piotr and Roberto were dropped into the site by Storm and had blended in quickly with the regular workforce as contractors. Rahne waited patiently at the boundaries until the others had found what they needed. They had already tried the residential property Xavier listed - but it was a hotel. Mr. Spears owned it but rarely stayed there and left nothing that Rahne could use to track which was the next step if Charles did not get back to them soon. Scott and Bobby were already loitering around the second site deeper into the industrial zone, trying to blend in as well as the others with Amara outside on stand-by.

"_Storm, come in."_ Bobby voiced over his intercom. _"It's a no show here. He hasn't been here and he's not coming either."_

"_Are you sure?"_ Storm asked, Bobby always had a tendency to get carried away by his overconfidence.

"_Positive."_ Bobby asserted.

"_Same here, Storm."_ Roberto's voice came over the com device. _"But we're in his 'part-time' office now. Admin building, top floor, South-East corner."_

"Wolfsbane." Storm signalled. Rahne climbed a nearby tree in her half human half wolf form. She reached a tall enough height and then leaped from the tree. Her body was expecting to fall to the ground, succumbing to gravity but her mind expected something else. As she fell through the air the winds whipped up around her and she became weightless. Storm's weather abilities created sufficient air to carry her higher and higher and swiftly over the site to the top of the building in question. From the ground, she was no more than a bird to someone's peripheral vision. She reached the roof and dropped into a tuck and roll but almost over shot her destination of the flat roof. She hit the edge wall with enough momentum to almost go over it but gripped the hot tar covered edging wall with her sharp claws in just enough time to prevent her fall.

She stood to dust herself off and regain her bearings, locating which corner was South-East. She approached the wall and climbed over, using her claws for extra grip, to the ledge around the top floor. She took baby steps around the ledge to the office window where Piotr was waiting. He helped her climb in through the window as she transformed back to her fully human form. Immediately she sniffed the air picking up the scents of Piotr and Roberto and someone else, an old scent. She looked around the big, barely used office from the large conference table covered in a subtle layer of dust, to the leather sofa recliner and large desk oak desk equipped with top of the line of office equipment. Roberto was already working hard on hacking the computer for any information he could get on Spear Sports saving the data to a USB key. He was standing in front of the monitor and made a slight bend in the knee suggesting that he was about to sit.

"Hold it!" Rahne whispered loudly to him. He froze and looked at her frowning.

"What?" He asked urgently, already a little stressed by their uninformed mission.

"Don't sit in that chair behind you!" She ordered loudly and then she joined him by the desk. She lowered her nose to the chair behind him; Roberto understood now but still thought it looked strange in her human form. She transformed into her full wolf self and started sniffing the piece of furniture rapidly, like it was really interesting. When she was finished obtaining a scent she transformed back to herself.

"You can sit now." She told him with a smirk. The irony of the wolf commanding the man to sit was not lost on Sunspot. He sat and continued working on the computer.

"I'm nearly done here." She nodded and made her walk over to the door to help listen out for anyone approaching their way. Colossus came over to stand by the door alongside her.

"So, what will ye do if someone comes before ye leave?" Rahne asked them as she listened at the door.

"Contingency plan." Piotr stated simply.

"Done!" Roberto said excitedly, pulling the USB key from the computer. Rahne looked a little panicked when he looked up. "Wolfsban-, what is it?"

"Someone's coming!" She whispered loudly to him. He rushed to the door and grabbed Rahne's elbow guiding her over to where she came in.

"Get out through the window!" He clicked his communicator. "Storm, meet Wolfsbane on the roof."

"Wait! What are ye goin' to do?" She turned to him and asked alarmed.

"Contingency plan!" They both replied. She started to climb out the window but was too intrigued by this plan. Keys rattled at the door, they could hear the voices of two men outside the door.

"I swear, Derrick, I heard voices in there!" One of them said to the other. Roberto glanced over at the window and saw that she was still crouched there, not having left yet. 'Go' he mouthed to her. She cast him one last worried look and then left - climbing back to the roof to meet Ororo. Roberto returned his attention back to the door which was opening a fraction. One man walked in followed closely by the other. Colossus stepped out from behind the door in his normal form and swiftly punched the first man, knocking him out. At the same time, Roberto punched the other man knocking him into Colossus' body - the impact with the solid Russian was enough to take him out too.

"Good plan." Roberto congratulated Piotr on his simple but effective contingency plan.

"Thank you." Piotr nodded. "We should leave before they raise the alarm." Roberto nodded in agreement. They tucked the security guards in behind the door and swiped their keys to lock them in.

Rahne clawed her way back up to the flat roof, perfectly aware of how high up she was and what the most likely result would be if she fell. Just as she was thinking about it, she lost her footing as she was reaching for the ledge and suddenly felt that dip in the pit of her stomach. Her heart was in her mouth. She was saved last second by a strong but small hand wrapping around her reaching wrist. She looked up into the eyes of the weather goddess, pulling her up to the roof top. Rahne grabbed tightly to Ororo when she reached the roof, the adrenaline from the near fall still coursing through her.

"Wolfsbane. Wolfsbane!" Ororo tried to get the attention of her pupil, but failed. "Rahne!" She shouted. Rahne jumped and looked up at her. "Claws..." Rahne let go instantly, realising her claws were digging into Storm's side like a frightened cat.

"Sorry..." Storm nodded and heard some new information through her earpiece.

"Everyone ready? Let's go." Ororo took Rahne's hand as the air whipped up around them.

Piotr and Roberto walked through the corridor quickly to the fire escape as Roberto talked to Storm by his com device. They made it down half ways before the alarm bells went off. They looked at each other and smiled.

"Showtime!" Roberto said just as a flash of red light burst through the site. Colossus transformed into his steely self as Sunspot powered up, loving the California sunshine. They jumped off the external fire escape and landed among the chaos of frightened below as well positioned lightning strikes reigned down from the heavens, taking out the security cameras. The fences around the entrance were melted away as Magma burned them through with molten lava from the Earth underneath them. Bridging high over the excessive heat with ice, Iceman shot ice jets to smash some random inconsequential pieces of machinery to aide Sunspot and Colossus who were doing the same as they made their way to the exit out into the woods.

As fast as the action had started it disappeared just as quickly. The personnel and security guards looked up from their foetal positions to see that all the mutants had vanished. Confused they looked around at the damage done. Most of the buildings had suffered very little damage as someone ran into the nearest phone to talk to higher powers about what they should do.

**End of Chapter 23**

A.N. Wow! Such reckless thug-like behaviour from the so-called X-men! I wonder what they're up to?

I admit, I was tempted to get Chuck to just send a cab to pick up Logan - but after the cruel abandonment last chapter, I just couldn't be so unfeeling... again...

Right, I was slow to update this week, but I was getting things organised cause I start work Monday! Woohoo! So my updates in the future will probably fall on the weekends in future - but don't worry, this story must keep going!


	24. Chapter 24

**A.N. Wow, that was a long week, but good all the same! How have ye been? How's work/school/college/other going? Hope it's treatin' ya well! Meant to upload this chapter this morning but had a powercut, thus taking out the internet also - but it's all gravy now! Thanks to all who have been reading! R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****4**

He woke in another violent coughing fit and reached to grab his chest at the shock of not being able to breathe. His whole body shook as he tried to get enough Oxygen to survive, he tried to roll on to his side but fell out of the bed onto the hard cold floor below. He was confused as to where he was but then started to remember...

_He wanted to close up for the night, but he still had customers occupying a booth. Well, he used to term customers l__oosely. Out of the eight college students, three had ordered a coffee two hours ago, the rest sticking to water and no tips. He had seen one or two of them stop by before but this was the first congregation of them in his establishment, and he was seriously considering making it the last. They were loud and young and intimidating. Anyone who came in over the last few hours left as a direct result of their antics. He heard them talking to each other about their networking and secret codes and meetings. A laptop out in front of one of them, connected to their friends. Ryan Kane wondered what was uniting this group of diverse looking young adults together until he came over to clear away the cups and sugar packets and overheard them whispering to each other._

"_... they shouldn't be allowed in, who knows what diseases they could be carrying?" One of them said in disgust to the group._

"_Bit melodramatic, don't you think, Nigel?"__ The leader of the gang told the one called Nigel. "Look, the biggest problem we face until they get banned is spotting them."_

"_I heard that that Senator... what's his face, intends to bring in an Act forcing them to register, and make the information public to us."_

"_Creed?__ Yeah, I agree with him. We need to know who's in our neighbourhood." Ryan got the gist of the topic the closer he got to the table, but his presence didn't deter some of them from the heated, one-sided debate._

"_They're dangerous. That's why we must all make every effort to publicise what we hear__." Someone else declared loudly causing a radial murmur of agreement from everyone. Just as Ryan leaned in to pick up the nearest cup, the guy continued in on his rant. "It's up to us to inform people of these freaks."_

_Cl-clink!_

_Ryan lost grip on the saucer he was holding and it fell back to the table with a clatter. It got the group's attention. He mumbled an apology for the noise, a little nervous of their topic of conversation but then took it back thinking he should treat them like any other crappy customers he's ever had. But then their 'leader' chimed in unexpectedly._

"_Another coffee, please." __He asked without charm, not like a customer but like an editor-in-chief sending the new guy on the coffee run - don't forget the doughnuts. Ryan wasn't intimidated by him._

"_Sorry, but I normally close around now." The guy did not get the picture, if anything; he became more adamant in his cause._

"_Hey, we're doing important work here." He told him, like he should care as much as he did._

"_I can see that." He said, not being able to keep the sarcasm and distain from his voice. The words came out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about what he was doing. The guy took offence._

"_We are keeping the world safe from those mutants! Those freaks-" Suddenly the laptop on the table exploded._

_Zzz__-Bang!!!_

"_What the-"__ Their leader exclaimed._

"_He did it!"__ One of the group declared._

"_Yeah, I saw it!" Another sheep agreed._

"_You're a mutant!" Their leader decided, on a now informed decision. Ryan paused before responding, thinking that the silence would help him look more intimidating in his hopelessly outnumbered situation. _

"_Get off my property!" He told them darkly. Those seconds, between them staring at him and then slowly trickling out the door, were the longest moments in his life. _

_As the last one left, he locked the door and breathed a huge sigh of relief. However, the little relief he got was short lived as he now knew that the life he had was over. He ran to the till and safe and started throwing all the things he needed into a back pack. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know where to go. Suddenly he remembered that pretty girl with the white locks in brown hair and her clawed friend. He ran to his little office and started ripping apart the drawers on his desk in search of that card with their number and address. _

_After a precious half-hour of searching, he finally found it. He left the office and made to grab the keys to his truck from under the counter top when the lights went out._

_He felt something heavy slam down on his right, outstretched arm and was forced to listen to the sound of his radius snapping. Heavy arms descended on him quickly incapacitating him by force, constriction and pain. __He could feel an arm around his neck in a choke hold from the guy behind him who broke his arm. The adrenaline coursed through his veins and he felt his heart race. Despite the power being shut off, the lights above him exploded in sparks and glass causing his attackers to flinch. The flash illuminated them long enough for him not to see them. They were men of various builds but were completely covered from head to toe in military style black uniforms, their faces covered in balaclavas. _

_The lights sparked again like strobe lighting as other appliances continued to explode around him.__ The men were only shortly deterred by his powers after they realised they were not going to hurt them. In the frames of light he could make out that one of the attackers was approaching him with a syringe. His eyes widened as the needle was jabbed with a sadistic intent into the crook of his broken arm._

_He felt the effects immediately; every breath felt link needles in his chest. Two became four. His head was pounding and he started feeling faint but extremely alert to danger. Without knowing what he was doing or what he was capable his body jerked as he lost the control he wasn't aware he had. Whatever appliance that hadn't already sparked up, suddenly exploded with a greater force than the others had expected. They let him go in shock and he fell to the floor but the effect of the drug didn't stop there. He felt every wire in that building and those around bursting with heat and every piece of electronic equipment combusting into giant flames. The power surge was immense, until he blacked out..._

He caught his breath and tried to push himself up off the ground with his right arm but fell when he realised that all the strength was gone from it, remembering the break a few hours ago. No, probably a few days ago. He really didn't know how long it had been. He looked at the crook of his elbow and saw a mark with red vein-like patterns extending out from it in a radial direction. They didn't kill him, they knocked him out and he woke up on a hospital bed hooked up to many machines that beeped loudly and painfully when he woke up feeling like he had been dead for three weeks. As sick as he was, apparently he wasn't as sick as they hoped he would be - or so he gathered from the tone of that butcher with short, red hair. They put him to sleep once more, but he didn't think he would wake up again, let alone be in another cell.

He shook his head and tried using his left arm to push himself up in to a standing position. His head started feeling light and fuzzy and he stumbled against the wall of his cell with a thud. He recovered from the stumble when he heard a small voice from next door.

"Hello?" A young girl's voice, though hoarse and sleepy, echoed through the bars on each cell and around the dividing wall between them. "Is someone there?" She called out after hearing nothing but silence as a response. Ryan cleared his throat when he realised he never answered her.

"Yeah, hi-" The effort of talking sent him into another coughing fit, but he gained control faster this time round.

"Are you okay?" She asked, afraid she was going to lose the only other person in there to talk to, or to hope with.

"Yeah. Sorry." He managed to get talking again. "God, what did they do to me?" He choked out feeling every part of his body scream in pain.

"They injected you too." She concluded gravely, in a voice that caused him to forget his pain and worry about hers.

"Are you alright?" He asked the voice. The lack of response only caused him more pain than he could imagine. "My name's Ryan..." He offered, hoping he wasn't just talking to himself. After a few quiet moments, she echoed back to him.

"... Jan..." She replied in a tone that nearly broke his heart but somehow warmed it at the same time.

oOo

"Duncan?"

"Jean?!" Duncan turned from his friends at the voice of his ex-girlfriend, then quickly remembered that she was a telepath. _"Oh crap! La la la la la la la..." _Jean shook her head in disappointment at his pathetic attempts to cast a guise over his thoughts.

"You know that won't work." She told him simply as he kept up the 'la-la-la's. By now, his friends at the stand were watching what appeared to be an uncomfortable meeting between ex's. However, when the ex raised her hand and Duncan rose into the air, they knew it was time to quickly depart.

The crowd scattered, but Jean wanted to question the Purity guys as well as Duncan, but Duncan first. She looked to Laura - the only person in the pandemonium standing her ground.

"_**Round them up..."**_ Laura nodded and set off to handle the menial but fun task, her energy now fully recovered and her injuries finally healed. Jean focused back at Duncan and rose in the air in front of him. The shock of the powers being used on him caused a break in the 'la-la-la's to let a few choice words escape his mind, definitely none that would improve his situation. As expected, Jean was hurt. But more importantly, Jean was angry.

"Jean, sweetie, can we talk about this?!" He said in a cool, collected manner, thinking that he could always sweet talk her into anything. She cocked her head in response to his efforts showing a haunting look void of emotion on her face. She raised her arms and both soared higher and higher into the sky with such force. Duncan was scared before, but now at this height and with that look on her face, he was terrified. Below, Laura was having fun knocking out each of the loser's friends with ease and sans claws. Although, to Duncan, they all looked like ants.

He looked back to Jean and saw only darkness in her eyes as she brought him closer to her placing her hands on either side of his face. She looked deep into his eyes trying to read him so he resumed his previous stance.

"La la la la la la..." She smiled darkly.

"**Do you really think that will help you now?"**Those were the last words he heard as pain ripped through his skull, tearing his psyche to shreds and destroying him.

oOo

"Ray..." She called out into the darkness. "Must we do this every time?" She rolled her eyes. Well, visibly she only rolled her left eye, as her right eye was hidden behind a black eye patch. "I can see in the dark, Ray."

Berserker emerged from the shadows followed closely by a copy of Jamie. He walked over to her, coming to a stop about six feet away from her. She was as tall as him, if not taller. Either way, she towered over Jamie; which only added to the intimidation she brought to the room/sewer. Callisto placed her hands on her hips, expecting a quick explanation from Ray as to his presence. The scar across her face warned everyone not to take her lightly.

"Callisto, we need your help." He asked her earnestly.

oOo

Jamie trudged through the sewer water in his X-man uniform, aided by a flash light, letting out intermittent sounds to signal his displeasure. God only knows what was in this stuff. He glanced up every now and again, letting out another type of sound to express his hate and jealously. Hank McCoy smiled a toothy grin down at his young friend as he climbed the ceiling, gripping the pipe work as he moved, cleverly avoiding the vile liquid below - after all, it would take months to get that smell out of his fur.

They soldiered on; the Beast was half relying on the most likely routes that the Morlocks traversed on a daily basis. The other half of him relied on the Morlocks findin-

Ka-Chung! Ka-Chung! Ka-Chung!

Hard, dull white projectiles hit the Beast's hand and each foot hard enough to lose his grip on the pipes and-

Splash!

Jamie duck out of the way of the flying objects and the splash back of Beast's fall, all the while doing his best not to grin at the Beast's sopping wet fur as he emerged like the creature from the 'blue' lagoon. Jamie's thoughts started to behave when he realised the things that were being thrown at them were still being thrown at him. The Beast growled and caught the next two white things coming his way, one with his foot, the other with his hand. He quickly examined the one in his hand, and judging from the porosity and texture, not to mention colour, he knew what it was - despite that it was in a shape he had never seen before in his life. These were sharp, like dull knives.

He didn't have much time to think before another came hurdling his way, almost slicing through Jamie's arm if he hadn't tucked behind into an alcove in the sewer walls. Beast stood his ground in the middle of tunnel, catching any that were headed his way. A silhouette stepped forward in the darkness, and Jamie could swear he recognised it.

"Spyke?" He called out into the black, but the figure that stepped forth was quite different yet similar to Evan.

"No." She stepped forward once more, bone growths all over her body and decorating her shoulders the same way as Spyke, but a much more feminine form. She looked to be the same age as Spyke but had pink hair and fair skin. She held two, long, sword-like bones up high as she came towards them cautiously, a frown barely visible under her helmet of bone across her forehead. "How do you know Spyke?"

oOo

He stomped heavily through the water, taking out his anger and frustration of the day on the raw sewage. The smells were all different and confusing, providing a sensory distraction. He growled every time he caught the scent of the person they were looking for in the chaotic, Brownian motion of odours in the dark tunnel. Behind him, following carefully and quickly in his footsteps was Jamie, not daring to question his leader's path. Jamie walked as he became aware of some new information from his copies.

"Hey, Logan? Ray has found Callisto and Beast has found another Morlock." Logan growled. Jamie took that as a 'Wow, Multiple Man! Good work! You and your copies are clearly an integral part of the X-men team. An indispensable cog in our well oiled machine, one might say.' Logan kept walking regardless. Confused, Jamie piped up once more.

"Ah, Logan? Shouldn't we turn around and head back to meet up with the others now?" Logan growled again. Geez, this guy was in a bad mood today. "Logan?"

Snikt!

Logan growled once more, this time at Jamie. He turned his still healing face to him, the injuries adding more to Logan's frightening nature, not to mention the three claws in front of Jamie's face.

"Cool it, kid!" Logan shouted, then sharply turned back in the direction they were walking, retracting his claws as he went.

Un-snikt!

"You're givin' me a headache." He muttered more quietly as he spotted who he was looking for up ahead. The silhouette was, almost, unmistakable. Evan turned and walked to meet them.

"Nice to see some things never change, Logan." His voice carried through the tunnels with authority.

oOo

Laura looked up form below as she threw the last fool onto the pile of fools on the grass. She saw the dark side of Jean emerge as she drew the blond guy closer to her, holding up her hands to his face. Even with the loose morals and ethics of a person who was raised as a weapon, she knew what Jean was about to do was wrong. She could do nothing from there to stop her, but she now had campus security to worry about for a minute or two.

She hated anyone in uniforms. The first three security guards didn't know what hit them as she took them out with ease. She ran at the first and kicked him hard in the chest, cracking a few ribs; she then cart wheeled over him as he fell to the ground, taking out the second and third with a mid-air split, kicking both in the jaw, rendering them unconscious. The fourth guard shot a taser, sending thousands of volts through her body. Instinctively she popped the claws on her hands.

Snikt! Snikt!

She sliced through the wires extending from her arm to his gun. She growled and saw red. She charged the fourth guard, not caring about how he would fair against her claws when a small playing card, bright and on fire, suddenly appeared in her peripheral vision.

**End of Chapter 24**

_A.N. How was that? Good? Bad? Indifferent? More action to come! In the meantime - drop a review!!!!_


	25. Chapter 25

**A.N. Wow, an even longer week, but good too! So, shall we continue? Thanks to all who have been reading! Meant to say in the last chapter - Ryan Kane, his buddy Chas, Esther (RIP), Janette and those sorority chicks are my own original characters not included in the general character disclaimer below which is a reference to Marvel characters only. R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****5**

He never had to work this fast in his life. After a quick inspection of Cerebro he found traces of the same damage as he found in the Danger Room but not severe enough damage to prevent Cerebro from working. They had discovered that what needed fixing were the power lines to the console and the head unit, and the wiring to the head unit itself. Xavier concentrated on the head unit as Forge fixed the power lines first. They worked in silence, Forge breaking into a sweat. Xavier was on a roll, repairing fast, only stopping to check on the Beast's progress or to radio the team heading for Rochester. He was yet to make contact with the team in L.A. and was praying for their safety, but knew that Scott and Ororo could manage. There was also that incident with Rogue playing on his mind - but he could worry about that now.

He closed the cover on the top of the head set, now finished his work. He looked to Forge as closed the side panel on the console. Forge nodded as he too was finished. Xavier flicked on a few switches and booted up the massive machine. The two waited patiently for it to come to life as Xavier quickly punched in the required codes to talk to Storm.

oOo

She crouched low in the grass, her ears twitching at random intervals from the long blades of grass tickling the fur around them. Her gaze was constant, past the overgrowth, through the damaged wire fences about a couple of hundred yards off to the blurs and shapes of people walking around the compound. Her eyesight wasn't that great - things being in black and white and all. But she wasn't depending on her sight; she had a clear picture from the sounds and scents that she was picking up in great detail - most notably, the scents of fear, anger, confusion and nervousness.

She heard a twig snap of someone approaching her from behind. She knew who it was, she knew his footsteps a mile off. Roberto came closer and she fought the urge to turn and growl just to scare him. If she was home at the Institute, that's probably what she would do, but right now in this place, she was nervous and not willing to do anything stupid in this dangerous situation that they were in. She would never admit it out loud, but she liked having him there. Most of the time he annoyed her to no end, but he always meant well - even when his ego got in the way.

He crouched down as low as he could to her.

"Anything yet?" He said barely audible to anyone else but clear to her. She turned her head and looked at him. She moved her head side to side to be clear in her 'No' message.

BANG!

A loud noise came from the compound as someone tried to fire up a pump that was barely damaged on the outside, but clearly something had been knocked out of place as the motor burnt out with a bang. Rahne jumped at the sound, the noise much louder to her than too Roberto, and without warning. She couldn't help her tail from tucking between her legs in shame that she was scared of a pump. She looked away from Roberto, not wanting him to see the embarrassment written across her canine face.

She felt a warm hand behind her ear. She turned sharply towards him, jumpy at the contact. He froze as she did. They looked at each other for an extended moment before Rahne did something she never thought she would do. She moved her head up into his hand and closed her eyes as she felt him unfreeze and start scratching behind her ears. She thought of how ridiculous she looked if anyone were to see them and how domesticated it felt - but honestly, it felt too good to care.

Well, she almost didn't care. Rahne flinched at the sound of car approaching the compound. Roberto felt her tense and looked out to where she was staring. He didn't see anything, but a few seconds passed before the car she heard came into view. It was a large, shiny metallic black, new Mercedes-Benz. It pulled into the centre of the wreckage. From the back, out stepped a light blond man, slightly stockier from the brief they had earlier. Rahne sniffed the air and gestured 'No' to tell him that that was not the man that they were looking for. Roberto stood.

"I'll tell Storm." He whispered before he ducked back deeper into the woods where he could use his communicator where he would not be heard. She didn't watch him leave. Instead she kept a faithful watch on the site until he returned. Many men rushed to greet this man and quickly started rambling on about what had happened there incredulously. Her ears folded back as she sniffed the air again for any more information. Her ears pricked up as she picked up a faint scent of Spears. She knew he wasn't there but it was important information none the less.

She was about to sneak away when she saw the blond man look out past the fence and in the general direction of the woods where she was hiding. She lowered her body closer to the ground than before. He turned back to the men around him and gestured towards the woods, handing them each a thick black pen.

She felt something sinister afoot. She crept backwards and quickly turned in the direction Sunspot went to tell him. She sprinted forwards like a greyhound on the track. It only took mere seconds for her to catch up with him. When she had him in sights she used the last few bounds to transform back to her human form. He turned at the sound of her pounding footsteps just in time to witness her crashing into him with the momentum. He caught her before they bowled over. He was momentarily speechless at their closeness as he looked into her eyes.

"No time f'r that!" She broke the tender moment with urgent practicality, pulling his elbow towards the jet hidden in the distance.

oOo

He thumbed through the pages and pages on the desk, looking through things that were not his business but that were everything to the man who owned them. He had a newspaper tucked under the shoulder of his trench coat as he searched. It was what brought him here. He didn't know what he was looking for but he had to understand his motives. He knew how the man felt in general, but how far he was willing to go was what had to be established. Their views had been clashing for years. For so long, in fact, that when his mutation emerged he never told him and instead let him think that their political and business ethics was the sole reason for the distance between them. He hasn't seen him in person for years, nor did he want to any time soon.

The instant he found it, he knew it was what he was looking for. He dropped his newspaper, business page open on top of everything on the desk. He quickly took off his trench coat - intentionally dislodging a loose feather as he pulled on his mask and opened the window. The feather floated up with the sudden rush of cold air as the tall blond mutant disappeared through it. The feather floated gracefully down and landed on top of the newspaper, almost covering the most important headline on that page: 'SPEAR WINS AGAIN: Global Conglomerate Worthington Ind. partners R&D efforts with Spear Sports'. An icy wind rushed in and blew the feather and the pages off the table and onto the floor. They landed in a heap, this time the feather landing on another headline in the business section: 'Torque Announces Plans for rEvolutionary New Game'.

oOo

"Storm!" Scott shouted into the jet to the weather witch. She nearly jumped out her seat ending communication with the Institute. Scott saw this and approached her taking the seat next to her. "Did you reach the Professor?" She looked at him sadly, before nodding.

"What's the problem?" Storm asked, getting down to business as to what was so urgent. Scott gave a moment to confusion before reciprocating to talking business.

"Did you hear Roberto's message?" He asked her, thinking she hadn't if she was just talking to the Professor just now.

"No." She replied, the question mark on her face instead of her inflection.

"A car pulled up," Ororo's eyes opened a little wider, "not Spears." He quickly added. "But, from the description I think it's his Executive Assistant that was at Evan's skate-off last year." Storm considered this for a moment.

"Spears would be better, but if we can't get him then this man might-." She almost concluded before she was interrupted by their com links activating and a not-at-all timid Scottish voice shouting over them.

"_Storm! Cyclops! What e'er ye're doing__, drop it now 'n' fire up the jet!"_ Rahne's voice barked over the com devices.

"Wolfsbane? What's wrong? Is Sunspot with you?" Ororo asked as Scott started the up the jet.

"_Yeah, we're fine. But that blond lad sent abou' a dozen men into the woods 'n' they're headin' this way!"_ She shouted back. Scott and Ororo looked at each other wondering why Rahne was so panicked. The two of them should be more than a match for those men.

"Okay, then we'll send Colossus, Iceman and Magma to help you with them." Storm offered moving out of her seat to tell the others to head in their direction.

"_No! Storm, he gave them something! I think they're weapons!"_ A chill went down Ororo's spine. Bobby and Amara rushed in having heard the conversation on their own devices. Colossus stayed outside in his metallic from waiting for the other two to show up. _"Aye think they're syringes, you know, like insulin pens!"_

"Get back to the jet!" Storm ordered immediately.

"_Aye, don' you think that's what we're trying ta do?!"_ Rahne replied; Scott could almost see her rolling her eyes.

"Wait, Storm, what about Spears' man?" Scott challenged her decision. "If we leave now we may never find Spears himself or get to see who's pulling the strings to find those missing people!"

"_I do not fear syringes, I will go for him."_ Colossus' voice joined the conversation and was off before anyone could stop him, the heavy sound of his footsteps growing fainter away from the plane.

oOo

"I'll go too." He said as he powered up. He was about to let go of Rahne and turn back in the direction they came in but Rahne held tight to his hand when they stopped and even grabbed his arm with the other, anchoring him to her.

"What?! Do ye have a death wish?" Her grip tightened on his arm. She looked at him, his fiery eyes searching for hers from the black. He brought his free hand up to her neck; she couldn't stop herself from leaning into his touch. He brought her close to him.

"Get back to the jet." He whispered to her as the sound of heavy metallic footsteps grew closer. Rahne turned to see Piotr approaching. She looked back to Roberto. "Go. We'll be fine." At his assurance they parted and she turned in the direction of the jet.

oOo

_She sliced through the wires extending from her arm to his gun. She growled and saw red. She charged the fourth guard, not caring about how he would fair against her claws when a small playing card, bright and on fire, suddenly appeared in her peripheral vision. _

Kra-Ka Boom!

The three of clubs exploded at her side with enough force to knock her over, she threw up her arms and claws in a cross to block any further onslaught as she turned and fell sideways onto the gravel and grass, her hip landing hard on the dividing curve. The security guard didn't know what was happening but fumbled with a second cartridge for the taser gun as a girl appeared out of the ground and phased through the taser, shorting it out. He fell back in shock and tried scuttling away. Kitty sighed and turned back to Gambit who was preparing for the backlash from the little Wolverinette. She looked around and saw other guards and students rushing to join the fight.

With a quick nod from Gambit; Kitty, Jubilee and Boom Boom spread out around the fight to stop the others from joining with minimal force. Cannonball was about to do the same when he looked around for someone.

"So where's Jean?" He asked them. They all looked around and saw nothing, but Laura heard the comments through the haze of anger and looked up for a fraction of a second, but Gambit caught the tell and looked up too.

"She's up-oomf!" Remy got out enough to inform the others as to Jean's location but Laura was fast to act on the open opportunity and tackled Remy around the waist - knocking the wind out him and bringing them both tumbling down.

The others ignored Remy's well-being and looked up high in the sky to where two people were floating.

"Is that Jean?" Jubilee asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, and she's not alone." Tabitha included. They squinted and watch for a few seconds. "Is she hurting them?"

"She's totally not thinking straight!" Kitty said quickly in Jean's defence. "We have to get up there!" Kitty shouted, grabbing Sam's arm. Kitty looked back to the two girls for permission.

"Go!" Tabitha shouted. "We can babysit these guys!" She replied nonchalantly, gesturing to Gambit, X-23 and the entire campus. Cannonball took Kitty in his arms and powered up, blasting off into the sky.

Jubilee shot of a massive fireworks display covering North and East, Tabitha aimed more in a South and West direction around Gambit and X-23, who now had both regained their balance and were circling around each other waiting for the other to strike. The sun was starting to hang low in the sky casting shadows across the quad but rapid illumination was coming from Jubilee and Boom Boom's antics.

oOo

Kitty and Cannonball soared higher and higher in the sky.

"Omigod! It's Duncan Matthews?" Kitty shouted to Sam. "We have to get closer!"

Sam aimed harder and faster for Jean's position in the sky before they both came to a crushing stop, deflecting of a solid shield clearly projected by Jean. If it wasn't for Sam's invulnerability they wouldn't have stood a chance against it. They separated and fell crashing back to the ground.

oOo

Gambit flashed a charming smile at the young girl, like if he told her butter wouldn't melt in his mouth she'd believe him.

"C'mon, petite, you don' wanna hurt me. If you did, you would have already used those shiny cla-"

Sn-Snikt!

Gambit forced to swallow the melted butter fast and quickly extract his bo-staff as she ran at him with full force. She jumped to strike; he extended the bo-staff just in time to block her claws. Laura was actually surprised that her Adamantium claws didn't cut straight through the staff. He took the opportunity of her bewilderment to kick her hard in the stomach sending her backwards, rolling to regain her stance, and allowing him enough time to reach for his deck.

Laura didn't pause, she reacted on instinct. She charged at him and jumped high in the air in the same manoeuvre as before, Gambit rose the staff to block the claws once more not sure how she thought she could get away with the same move twice. She was milliseconds from connecting with the staff once more.

Un-Snikt! Un-Snikt!

She retracted the claws and grabbed the staff, swinging down on the staff between his outstretched arms to connect her heels to his chest and jaw. She let go of the staff as he went flying back and landed hard on the ground. She didn't care what his pitch was, or if he was one of them or not. All she knew was that when she fought she didn't have to think. She landed over him, her feet either side of his waist.

"Get up." He looked up at her, wondering what she was doing. He didn't respond and it angered her even more.

Snikt!

She unleashed two claws and brought them down to his chest.

"Get up!!" Her voice was breaking and she sounded tired. Something was wrong with her powers if she was already tiring out.

She was about to strike with a deadly blow, when her clawed hand suddenly froze mid-air. She looked alarmed, not knowing what was doing that. Gambit seized the opportunity and quickly grabbed her clawed arm by the wrist and swung a leg through hers and kicked her off him with enough force to cause her to stumble backwards into the waiting arms of the fuzzy blue one.

"Gutten nacht, fräulein." Kurt greeted his new friend as she spun in his arms. He grabbed her tight.

Bamf!

They appeared high in the sky in a cloud of choking brimstone, but before she could adjust to where she was-

Bamf!

This time on the roof of a nearby building-

Bamf!

Back on the grass-

Bamf!

Bamf!

Bamf!

Each time it felt like she was being punched hard in the stomach and head and totally winded. She clearly wasn't used to it and she was losing energy quickly.

Bamf!

Bamf!

Bamf!

Her eyes connected to the red on black of Remy LeBeau and then to the end of his bo-staff where a puff of pink smoke dispersed into her face smelling... like... straaw-berriees...

oOo

Laura fell limp in Kurt's arms after Gambit drugged her. He put her down onto the grass gently. Remy turned to look over at how the girls were doing. Tabitha and Jubilee had resorted to hand to hand combat a few moments ago but the challengers were less and less. The sky was getting darker and in the middle of the quad.

She was standing there, staring upwards. She came with Kurt moments ago after they landed the chopper. No one had to tell her where Jean was, she had already figured that out on her own. Gambit looked up. As the sky grew darker, Jean grew brighter in contrast. But something brighter was heading their way too.

"What is tha-" Gambit started, squinting at the glow before Rogue made the connection.

"Cannonball!" Rogue shouted as the two of them dived for safety from the out of control mutant who came crashing into the Earth moments later, displacing tons of Earth and coming to a rest in a large Cannonball-made crater.

"Kitty!" Kurt shouted before teleporting up high in the air to catch Shadowcat before she came to the same fate. He got a good enough grip on her to 'port her safely to the ground but it was tough as she was slipping in and out of consciousness - becoming tangible and intangible at random. He set her down and 'ported down to Sam, 'porting him back alongside Laura and Kitty. Jubilee came over to see how they were doing, trying to wake Kitty. Kurt went over to Rogue who was being helping Gambit up.

"What are we going to do?!" Kurt asked urgently, staring up at Jean.

"We need to get up there." Rogue said simply as Jubilee walked over propping up a reawakened Kitty.

"That's what we tried," Kitty groaned out, her head pounding, "It not as easy as it looks..."

"Is someone with her?" Kurt asked, squinting into the sky.

"Duncan Matthews." Rogue and Kitty both said at the same time. All eyes going to Rogue.

oOo

"_**Do you really think that will help you now?"**__Those were the last words he heard as pain ripped through his skull, tearing his psyche to shreds and destroying him. _

"_What are you doing?!"_ She demanded of herself. Eyes suddenly clenching shut and turning her head away from Duncan, despite her hands still channelling psychic energy between them and heating up in the process.

"_**He has answers, we need them..."**_ She said darkly but simply. A blip on the radar of Kitty and Sam were detected but Jean stretched out with her telekinesis to deflect them hard back down to Earth before resuming the conversation.

"_He doesn't dese__rve to have his mind torn apart!"_ She screamed desperately trying to reason with herself. The dark voice remained calm and soothing, a seductive alternative to frantic mind. It was like a type of confidence trying to sedate a wild and spirited animal.

"_**Yes, he does..."**_ Jean did not trust her, but she had been right before. Again the voice whispered quietly, enticingly. _**"Let me show you..."**_

_**A barrage of memories flooded through; raw memories flooded through viciously to prove a point. **__**She was Duncan. She was at the party. She was drinking illegally. She was talking and dancing and hitting on girls at the party. She wasn't worried about being kicked out because she was with her group. They got in everywhere and no one messed with them. They were from different backgrounds but united by two things - protecting humanity from the mutant threat and money.**_

_**Ever since he was humiliated by Jean, rejected **__**publicly when he was willing to stay with her, despite that she was a mutant. Following incidents between him and other mutants only served to turn that humiliation into a seething hate and resentment. He met people, lots of people, who shared his sentiment, but few were willing to do anything about it. But now, he had likeminded people around him. Nothing could touch them. Nothing would stop them. **_

_**She had been chatting to this girl for ages. The alcohol and boring topics combined to alter the time-space continuum to let an eon pass since she had started the conversation. She was hot though, but not enough to be worth enduring her**__** mind-numbing chitchat about her hometown, her major, her brother, her housemates including her wonderful friend, Easter or something. She nearly stopped listening until she heard her whisper to him in slurred words; '-and I would totally kill for her power, it is so awesome!'.**_

_**She smiled and took out her cell phone. She asked her where she lived. She was too smashed to notice that she had said anything. She abruptly left her and went outside into the cool night air to make a call...**_

Duncan and Jean both screamed in agony as Jean ripped their minds apart from the meld formed by her darker side, although Duncan remained unconscious but proved the coma was not deep enough to not feel pain. She was angry at herself for letting that happen and even trusting this darkness to not lead her astray. She could still feel her telepathy probing mercilessly into Duncan's mind. She opened her eyes to see what was happening and saw Duncan, his body hanging limp in the air high above the Earth - held only by the grace of her powers. She was horrified to see her hands either side of his face channelling more power then she had ever dared to use. She tried to pull her hands away and end her telepathic torture on him but her hands were locked in place. She was helpless to watch her hands heat up and glow faintly of fire, feeling for the first time in her life powerless to stop it. Her thoughts went out to anyone who would hear them, begging, pleading to be stopped before it was too late...

**End of Chapter 25**

A.N. Well, not as much Rogue as intended when I started this chapter but still... What did ye think? Too much going on? Not enough? Virtual hands up if ye like Roberto and Rahne! Tell me if ye don't, tell me if ye're lost, it's all input! Leave me reviews to encourage me to write faster!!!!!!!


	26. Chapter 26

**A.N. Sorry, a very long week this week (it's a bank holiday) but over 8000 hits! Wootness! Thanks to all who have been reading, and the reviews too!!! R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****6**

"Kurt, do you think you can get to him?" Kitty asked quickly. Rogue looked around. She saw many unconscious forms strewn across the grass, members of Purity, campus security guards, and other students. She knew they couldn't fight down here - but up in the air wasn't exactly in her favour either. She looked back to where Jean was high in the sky and out of control. She made a decision.

"Ja right, I can see that happening!" Kurt cried out, and then made a gesture with his hands representing him meeting a very solid object and made a 'Splat!' sound. "I saw what happened to you and Sam!" Rogue was checking on Sam's vitals as Remy checked Laura's. He decided that the petite fille would be unconscious for a while but otherwise she'd be fine. Remy looked over at Rogue and Sam. He noticed that he was still out for the count, which was odd as Kitty was already recovered from their encounter with Jean. As Rogue stood up from him, he saw her adjusting her glove. He frowned but she didn't notice his staring, instead she went to take charge of the situation.

"Nightcrawler, 'port Cannonball 'n' X-23 to the Chopper. Boom Boom, you go with him, someone's gotta be there ta keep an eye on 'em. 'N' Kurt, get your tail back here as fast as ya can." Kurt nodded, liking the confidence in Rogue's voice, despite her unusually thick accent. Tabitha was quickly at Sam's side.

"Let's go, Blue!" Tabitha hurried, as Kurt picked up the unconscious body nearest to him, Laura. Tabitha put Sam's arm over her shoulder and grabbed onto Kurt as best she could.

Bamf!

As the small group disappeared into the smoke,

"You have a plan, cherie?" Gambit asked Rogue quietly. Plan? She was making this up as she went. She looked around her.

"Try 'n' move some of these guys out of the way!" She gestured to the many people around them and went to move one herself. Gambit frowned at the procrastination but didn't question her; instead he did as she told him obediently, as did Kitty and Jubilee. They all paid attention to what they were doing, and doing it as quickly as possible.

Bamf!

Kitty's head swung around at the sound.

"Kurt?"

Bamf!

"Ja?" Kurt teleported in right next to her making her jump. She hit him on the arm.

"Don't do that!" She sighed angrily. She frowned at him. "Did you just, like, teleport twice?" He shook his head.

"No. What are you doing?" He furrowed his brow at Gambit, Jubilee and Kitty - dragging people off to the side of the green.

"Rogue told us to move these guys out of the way!" He stood there looking around. She looked at his still form. "You could help, you know?"

"Where is Rogue?" Kitty looked up to confirm that she was just behind her but didn't see her.

"Uh..." Was all Kitty managed to say before-

"Kurt!" Rogue yelled from above. She was flying? "Catch!" They barely had time to react as Kurt had to teleport to a falling jock before he hit the ground.

Bamf!

"Gott him!" He yelled back.

Bamf!

He set Matthews down somewhere out of the way and paused to wonder if he should tie him up or something in case he got away, but one look at him, eyes rolled back in his head and drooling, he decided what he needed was medical attention, not more rough treatment - whatever he had done.

"Kitty, I'm taking him to Boom Boom in the Chopper!" He called out to Shadowcat. He was about to teleport away before adding on the last little bit, which was sweetened by his accent: "I'll be back!" Kitty rolled her eyes and seriously bad movie quote before her attention was drawn back to their suddenly flying friend.

Rogue was flying high, stationary in the sky with a burning flame behind her - Cannonball. She was watching Kurt to make sure he took care of Duncan and saw him disappear.

Bamf!

But all other eyes were on Rogue and the rapidly accelerating, and glowing, ball of psionic energy coming up behind her-

"Rogue, look out!" Kitty shouted too little too late as Jean's projected power crashed into Rogue causing bright sparks to fly everywhere and extinguishing her flame and fall ungracefully back down to the Earth. Gambit kicked into action and raced forwards and leapt into the air to catch her in a tuck and roll just in time to prevent her hard meeting with the ground.

"You alright, Cherie?" He asked in low tone, one hand gently cradling her head. Her eyes went from a drowsy, half-conscious state to wide awake and alert as they shot open when she remembered where she was.

"Yeah, Ah'm fine!" She answered loudly, quickly shrugging out of his hold. "Ah just need to get closer to her." She was preparing for a fight, and if she had said it to anyone else - they would have told her she was insane, but the look in her eyes translated across. He had had that look himself on many occasions. He nodded.

"What can we do?" Rogue admired his understanding for the briefest moment before Jubilee spoke up.

"What's going on with Jean?" She asked all confused.

"Is it her powers again?" Kitty asked hurriedly. Gambit processed her words quickly.

"Dis has happened before? What did you do the last time?" He asked, hopeful.

Bamf!

"No vay, not an option!" Kurt told them all sternly, but was looking pointedly at Rogue. She rolled her eyes.

"If you've got a better idea them Ah'm all ears!" She raised her voice to him in defiance. "I just need to get close enough to drain some off!" She held up her hand to illustrate her point.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked as she just furrowed her brow at him. "No Scott and no Professor!"

"Wait, it's Jean!" Jubilee said pointedly - but the rest of them just looked at her stupid, which told her that her point had not been made as clearly as she thought it had, encouraging her to elaborate on her little revelation. "She might come back to her senses if Rogue can tire her out. Can't you just, you know, hold on longer?"

Jubilee's idea was greeted by an eerie silence. It seemed that not everyone in the Institute was aware of the morbid potential of Rogue's abilities. The silence gave Jubilee her answer that that wasn't something they should risk. Gambit stared at Rogue as she adjusted her gloves, doing anything and everything to avoid eye contact. He didn't know what had happened the last time, but he gathered that it had involved some self-sacrifice on Rogue's behalf. And even though she probably would have done it willingly, she had already done it once; it wasn't fair that she was being asked to do it again. Kitty was looking up at Jean, willing her to come back to her friends, hoping that they wouldn't need to force her back - but praying that whatever they did that it would work. Kurt felt like the only sane one left, which was something he needed to express.

"I'm sorry, but am I the only one here who can see that this isn't going to work! We need the Professor for-" Kurt started his rant but his spiel was cut short by Rogue.

"Shut it!" She shouted at him, a hand to her temple. "Kurt, you're with me. Kitty - stick with Jubilee and Gambit, keep 'em outta harms way."

"Harm's way of what?" Kitty asked, her face contorting between confusion and worry.

"What do you think!" Jubilee answered with a roll of the eyes and a jerk of her head in the direction of Jean above them. Jubilee turned her attention to Rogue. "What do you need us to do?"

"Just keep her distracted for long enough with your fire power." She indicated to her and Gambit.

"Distracted?" Jubilee questioned as Rogue took Kurt's arm. She looked up above them to where Jean was stationary and starting to glow fiercely. Jubilee turned back to tell the group her little observation of the scene above them. "She seems quite happy to stay up there, how are we going to get her attent-"

Bamf!

Rogue and Kurt disappeared quickly and Jubilee was cut short as Kitty grabbed her arm as well as Gambit's, phasing them both just in time for a flying park bench to pass right through them. They had no time to think as they turned and saw Jean approaching them rapidly, a glow surrounding her. Jubilee reacted on instinct and shot fireworks into the air in her direction. Similarly, Gambit charged and through whatever inanimate objects he could find and watched them hit a shield surrounding Jean and exploding against it. Jean stopped twenty feet in front of them, darkly amused by their vain efforts. She lifted her arms and dismantled the surrounding buildings brick by brick and hurling them at them. Kitty was doing her best to keep up, saving Jubilee and Gambit from the shelling, but trying to allow them enough tangible time to get a few shots in but narrowly missing a very tangible death in between.

Jean was laughing. It was a dark laugh that none of them would have thought her capable of. She was just toying with them. She wasn't just out of control, she was out of her mind.

As Kitty thought it, Jean's eyes snapped to hers. Kitty was left with a split second to react before she fell through the Earth itself. She kept falling forever, no air, no light, no control and no one to help her.

"What's wrong with her?!" Jubilee shouted to Gambit. He turned and saw Kitty clawing at the ground, eyes closed and face contorted in fear. Her fingers started bleeding against the earth and gravel and debris - it was truly horrific to witness.

"De girl's a telepath! Jus' keep blastin'!" He shouted as he turned his attention back to the sky when he realised that Jean was no longer there. He pivoted in search of where she had gone but was suddenly pulled backwards by some force, coming to a stop next to a frozen and terrified Jubilee, unable to move a muscle. He struggled against his invisible restraints but came face to face with the mad women herself - her eyes mirroring his own but without the red.

oOo

Sitting on the ground, legs slightly bent but stretched out in front of him, he pressed his back to the cool, metallic dividing wall - the heat siphoned quickly from his muscles, aided by the layer of sweat soaking the thin cotton fabric stuck to his skin. However, the sensation was only temporary as soon the metal would warm to him and he would have to move again.

The room felt stifling, like a sauna, although he knew it was just him. The fever kept coming back in waves with little else to provide relief except for the wall. With the fever came the other symptoms. She knew when they flared up just from the sound of his voice. One minute he voice would be full and his breathing relaxed, and the next his sentences would be short and his breathing shallow. But the coughing had subsided for the last few hours at least and for that and for him she was grateful.

Now, Ryan needed to move once more. He carefully manoeuvred himself so as not to place undue pressure on his right arm. When he reached a cool spot on the wall he sighed quietly. Jan was sitting on the opposite side of the wall to him in the same position, but apart from feeling like she had the end of a cold, she was fine. She heard him sigh and looked down to her left and smiled, which was something she never thought she would do in this hellish place.

They had been talking for hours. They kept each other going. She told him that she was thrown in here with two of her friends who she had not seen since, she now feared the worst. He told her he came alone. She said there were others in these cells before she was moved to the hospital bed but they were gone when they brought her back. He was the only person that they brought in after her, and she didn't think he was doing too hot at the time. They discussed their cells. Nothing elaborate, plain steel bars that weren't even electrified - he tried them despite her objections. He smiled. It felt nice that she was worried for him.

They had discussed many things that seemed trivial, but every time they paused to the silence their minds would wander and they did not wander anywhere nice. When they were quiet, they wondered why they were here, what they were doing to them and all the possibilities that those thoughts offered. But more frighteningly, they wondered why they had stopped.

"Don't think about it." She told him softly. He smiled despite himself.

"How do you know what I'm what I'm thinking?" He responded, trying to imitate her soft tone so she wouldn't know he was hurting. But she knew.

"'Cause it's what I was thinking about." She told him honestly. He turned his head down to his right.

"Okay, neither of us will think about it." He concluded as strongly as he could muster. She smiled at the effort in his tone and nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"Deal." She nodded decisively. Another few seconds of silence filled in, but she wasn't thinking about what she agreed not to think about. She was thinking about a strange feeling that was developing in her chest over the last few hours, like butterflies. The feeling grew stronger every time she waited for him to say something, like she was nervous. He thought the silence meant that she was thinking about that other stuff so he had to think of something to say.

"So, if telepathy isn't your gift, what is?" He asked, clutching at a pretty interesting straw for once for their topics of conversation. A few more moments passed before she answered, making him wish he hadn't said 'gift' given their current situation.

"... 'Gift'?" She asked in bewilderment.

Ryan would have kicked himself if he had the strength for it, although he seemed to have enough strength and flexibility to put his foot in his mouth.

"Ryan, I'm not a mutant." She interrupted his thoughts with her 'little' fact. He almost had to ask her to repeat herself because he had decided that he must have misheard her. While he was away with his thoughts, her shy voice brought him back.

"Are you?" She asked openly. He was actually thrown for a response. Clearly he was if he thought she was, but saying it out loud would make it true. His heart rate increased but he didn't know why. Why was he afraid to say it? True, he had spent the most recent part of his life hiding who he really was but it didn't mean he was ashamed of it. It was self-preservation. But this was more than that. He was afraid that his answer would change her opinion of him. Right then, in that very moment, he realised just how important the girl had become to him in those few short hours.

He didn't know what he was going to do. She was waiting for an answer. But he wasn't going to lie to her, she probably would have seen through it anyway.

"Yes." She was quiet. The sweat all over him had little to do with his fever this time as he waited for her response. Jan looked around her cage searching for the right words to say and smiled. She turned her head down to her left to talk to him once more and raised her eyebrows to the wall like she was telling it a secret.

"Can you bend bars?" She asked with a slightly hopeful frown. There was a brief pause before the two of them broke down into a fit of laughter.

oOo

They ran as fast as they could back to the compound. Colossus was in front not even trying to be stealth about this. Sunspot was just behind him. They saw the people with the black pens, and they saw them in turn. They ran straight past them, grabbing their attention away from the direction of the jet, making them chase them back to the lion's den.

When they were in sight of the site, unarmed people started to flee but they could see a handful of people take shelter behind the large car in the middle of the open area. One man came close to Piotr and tried stabbing him with the syringe he carried but the needle crumpled against his metallic skin. Colossus looked at the idiot and enjoyed the moment that the man realised just how much trouble he was in. Piotr simply batted him away like an annoyance, which was a gentle enough act from anyone else but from this Russian; it sent the man flying back into the tree behind him, rendering him unconscious.

Colossus ran for the car and punched hard down on the bonnet - making the rear of the vehicle fly up into the air with the force and come crashing back almost crushing the people who had taken umbrage behind it. Two or three who were not as quick on their feet fell back on their rear ends in shock and clumsiness. Among them was the man they had come for. He tried to crawl away like a crab put was picked up easily by Colossus.

"I have him." He told Sunspot, who was fist fighting, up close and personal, with the men who were armed and had caught up with them - knocking each one out in turn. Roberto turned his head slightly to acknowledge Piotr but someone took the opportunity to charge at him, the black pen aimed at his chest.

Roberto turned just in time to grab the man's wrist and spin him around in a choke hold. He pushed the man forwards into the metallic Russian - which was like being thrown face first in to a brick wall. Colossus sighed, wishing that people would stop using him as a target to knock people unconscious but carried on walking out of the compound with the assistant man dangling over one shoulder.

Roberto knelt down to take something out the grip of a barely conscious man.

"Mind if I borrow this? Thanks!" Roberto picked up the black pen - think that Mr. McCoy and the Professor would like to have a look at this. He followed behind Piotr but was face to face with the blond man they wanted, who had been screaming profanities and racist garbage at them since they had arrived. Roberto rolled his eyes hoping he'd shut up soon. His wishes came through, however and Colossus ducked his head for a low lying branch but 'forgot' about the person over his shoulder as the branch collided with the back of the man's head. The profanities hushed suddenly as the man fell into a peaceful coma. Roberto sighed, liking the quiet as Piotr looked over to the unconscious man draped over his shoulder.

"Apologies for my clumsiness." The Russian said in a dry tone but with a hint of sarcasm. Roberto smiled; Piotr wasn't so bad for an Acolyte.

They soon reached the jet without anyone following them. They climbed aboard, Piotr unloading their souvenir into one of the seats and strapping him in. Storm and Cyclops were already firing up the jet for takeoff. Bobby and Amara were seated and strapped in. But someone was missing.

"Where's Rahne?" He asked out loud, everyone stopped what they were doing.

"I thought she was with you?" Scott said quickly, which was enough to send Roberto back out the door of the jet and into the woods. Scott flew out quickly behind him. Roberto froze not knowing which way to go, his heart pounding and blood pulsating so strongly in his head that he couldn't think. Scott was about to take charge when they suddenly both heard a dog yelp sharply in pain off to their right, causing them to sprint into action in the direction in came from.

Time was measured in heartbeats for Roberto as the moments drummed by but finally they saw two crumpled bodies by a tree. One dressed as a worker form the factory, the other was Rahne. She was lying on the ground like an injured puppy but transformed before their eyes into her human from. She had scrapes across her beautiful face and a small black pen stuck in her side - she wasn't breathing.

**End of Chapter 26**


	27. Chapter 27

**A.N. Short week this week. Oíche Shamhna! (Eee~hah How~na!) Hallowe'en! Sure, it all started here! Have a great night; be merry, be scary, and usher in November! Thanks to all who have been reading, and the reviews too!!! R&R, Ríoghnach's Reign.**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****7**

"_De girl's a telepath!__ Jus' keep blastin'!" He shouted as he turned his attention back to the sky when he realised that Jean was no longer there. He pivoted in search of where she had gone but was suddenly pulled backwards by some force, coming to a stop next to a frozen and terrified Jubilee, unable to move a muscle. He struggled against his invisible restraints but came face to face with the mad women herself - her eyes mirroring his own but without the red. _

The sky grew dark and the wind started to pick up as the heavens opened down upon them. Jean floated in front of him and Jubilee, her body drenched and motionless, leaving only her eyes to threaten them.

"_**Remy Etienne LeBeau,"**_ A voice hissed in his head, _**"you are tough to read but it will be a pleasure breaking you..."**_

"What do you want?!" He shouted at her, her face snapped sharply in his direction and squinted her eyes.

"_**Do I need to **__**want anything?"**_ She whispered telepathically to him in mock innocence - her face coming alive for the first time in front of them but it was something wholly different to the Jean he was familiar with.

His body jerked as his chin flicked upwards and his jaw snapped open to the rain at Jean's will. He couldn't move and couldn't stop the rainwater building up in his mouth forcing him to breathe through his nose, expelling air at intervals to clear his mouth and airways. The act seemed a strange form of torture but distracted him sufficiently for her to leech past his mental defences. She smiled.

"_**You've been a very bad boy..**__**." **_She started as she probed._** "You would sell your own mother, well, if you knew who she was..."**_ She laughed at him, but then stopped at a faint whisper.

"Jean... Please..." Jubilee whispered softly, Jean looked at her. Pain flicked across her face for the briefest moment, but it was gone in an instant with a snarl and a squint of her eyes in Jubilee's direction. "Ahh!" Jubilee cried out in pain as an invisible hand slapped her hard across the cheekbone, snapping her face to the right. Four fingernail marks ran from her temple to chin and mouth - each trickling blood slowly.

Jubilee's head was lolling loosely though her shoulders where frozen in place. Her breathing came in wracked sobs as she struggled to accept what had just happened. Gambit's spluttering brought Jean's attention back to him. She tilted her head to the side in question.

"_**No,"**_ She answered his silent question, _**"they don't know. Even you don't realise what you've done... yet... But you'll find out soon enough, and so will they..."**_She came closer to him and raised right hand up near his throat, speaking out loud for the first time.** "So will she..."** She brought her hand closer to do to him as she did to Duncan, but it froze midair. Jean's face showed surprise, but was only allowed to do that briefly before something bigger shocked her.

KRA-KA-BOOM!!!

Lightning split the sky and bolted down between Gambit and Jean, fortunately and accurately striking Jean square in the chest - blasting her backwards. Gambit and Jubilee fell to the ground and Kitty jerked awake from her night terror. Jean landed a good distance away from them.

Bamf!

Kurt popped up behind them; Jubilee and Kitty latched on to him straight away - clinging on for dear life. Gambit picked himself up from the ground and stumbled away from Kurt.

"Where's Rogue?" He coughed out, looking around for her.

"Vee have to go, now!" Kurt told the man, with an authority that aged him. Gambit started to walk away in search of the river rat, when he felt something snake around his ankle. He looked down and saw something blue.

"Non!"

Bamf!

"Take me back der!" He ordered the elf as Kurt unwrapped his tail from the Cajun's leg. When Kurt did not respond, he got physical. "Take me back! Now!" He barked, grabbing the what-would-be-labels of his uniform. Kitty and Jubilee were clung to each other, still in shock and shaking furiously despite Sam and Tabitha's efforts to keep the girls warm with a blanket. Laura was still unconscious in the corner alongside Duncan Matthews.

"Nine!" He said, not backing down from the staring contest. "You did your part, let meine Schwester do hers." Kurt said calmly but adamantly, his tune changing rapidly from wanting to protect Rogue to trusting her judgement implicitly. Gambit's opinion, however, had also swayed but the opposite way to Kurt's - he went from trusting her when he thought that Jean Grey had 'simply' lost control of her powers, but seeing the pure evil they were up against; it nauseated him thinking what she was about to fight. "Mein freund, trust her."

Gambit let go of the elf a few seconds contemplating his words. He walked out of the chopper and into the night air. He paced out in the open, thinking of all the possible morbid scenarios for Rogue. After a while, he noticed something missing. He looked up into the sky and saw nothing but the stars. It wasn't raining there. He looked off into the distance, two miles North of the X-Chopper to where a huge thunder-head was lurking. Suddenly, all his thoughts of the scenarios involving Rogue started to turn in her favour.

oOo

_She was lying on the ground like an injured puppy but transformed before their eyes into her human from. She had scrapes across her beautiful face and a small black pen stuck in her side - she wasn't breathing._

Scott kicked into gear, running forward and pulling the unconscious man off of her and rolling him onto his man. He then moved the now free Rahne to her back, careful of the implement stuck between two ribs in her side. Roberto emerged from his briefly catatonic state and dashed, kneeling quickly by her, examining the object and taking out the one he had collected himself. They were identical.

"They're identical!" He said out loud, quickly dropping his pen and examining the one in her side. The plunger on the syringe had not been deployed, she had not been poisoned. He pulled the pen out, but it did not elicit any response from her - not even in pain. Roberto lost his sudden optimism. "Why isn't she breathing?!" Cyclops checked her vitals and placed his ear to her nose and mouth, but heard nothing.

"I don't know, but I'm starting chest compressions!" He told Roberto, placing his hands over her heart to start CPR. It took two compressions for him to know something felt wrong. Her chest felt tight, almost full but not able to move. He stopped compressions to feel her stomach and diaphragm, they felt hard and tight.

"What's wrong, why are you stopping?" Roberto asked quickly, one hand under the back of her neck, the other holding her limp hand nearest him, stroking her knuckles with his thumb.

"I think she has a collapsed lung." He told him quickly. "Give me that syringe and take the hollow barrel off the other one. Hurry!" Scott ordered. Sunspot handed him the syringe quickly, desperate and not stupid enough to ask questions. Scott took the sharp object and stabbed Rahne between the ribs, near where they found the pen. Roberto flinched on her behalf. Some blood trickled out. Roberto handed him the black, outside part of the pen casing as requested. Scott quickly pushed it in past the muscle in the incision he had made. The smallest hiss of air escaped through the emergency medical device created by Cyclops. As the air escaped, she gasped.

oOo

She made little to no effort raising herself from the ground, her body once more as still as death but her telekinesis flicked up her hair around her like she was submerged in water. Her shield that she had thrown up instinctively had protected her from the millions of volts that struck her.

She looked around the empty campus; random flickering of lightning from the super-cell overhead was the only source of illumination in the torrential downpour. She closed her eyes and tried her telepathy for a read but had little success. Her dark eyes darted back and forth.

"**Why don't you come out where I can see you****, Rogue?!"** She called out to the darkness.

KRA-KA-BOOM!!!

Another bolt of lightning struck the ground next to Jean. She was amused.

"**Hmmm, you missed!"** She called out tauntingly.

KRA-KA-BOOM!!!

Another struck from behind but didn't manage to hit her either. **"You really should work on your aim-"**

Ba-Chung!

A metal garbage can struck with a satisfying hollow ring as it hit her front when she turned from the lightning strike. It had enough force to knock her back and bruise her face but most of its energy was arrested by Jean's force field. With the garbage can, the winds died down around her. She was on high alert; she knew Rogue had some tricks up her sleeves, or gloves, but she was not able to fathom how she managed to catch her off guard. It angered her.

She flew up from the ground for a better vantage point, but the metal chicken wire from the campus fencing that she ripped up earlier was thrown over her like a cast net over fish in the water. Again, it did little but serve to annoy her further. She stretched out with her telekinesis to rip and burn the wires apart so they fit around her telekinetic shield which almost glowed. The image it created was startlingly symbolic, almost like her rebirth and the dawn of a new age.

She looked around for that little Goth and could swear she saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes in the shadows between the buildings. The eyes faded but Jean didn't want to give her the chance to escape. She raised two hands and pushed the buildings together to squish the rodent that they concealed with a satisfying crunch. Something inside her changed.

"Rogue!" The real Jean cried out briefly as she quickly landed in front of the buildings and panicked. She closed her eyes and concentrated really hard to push the two buildings apart - despite that her alter ego had no problem pushing them together. She parted the buildings like the red sea and walked between them in search of her friend. "She's not here..." Jean whispered to herself but then jerked back against the wall as if being held by some invisible force.

"_**Exactly, she's gone and you let her get away!"**_ She felt an icy hand claw around her neck, Jean's hands went to her neck and tried to stop it - but how do you stop yourself? _**"You cast me aside, you cast us aside!"**_ She felt the claws tighten and was barely able to speak.

"I don't... want... to hurt... my friends!" She gasped out. The grip loosened a fraction to show understanding of her struggle.

"_**You won't survive without me."**_ She assured herself briefly before tightening the grip cutting off nearly all of her Oxygen supply. _**"Do you want to die?" **_The voice hissed loudly in her mind. Jean tried to breathe but couldn't. Finally, after tunnel vision had set in she used what energy she had left to relent.

"... No..." She whispered, instantly dropping, being released from the hold. Her body filled with warmth as her darker side took care of her - showing her that she had made the right choice. She stood upright feeling the power at her fingertips. Rogue watched the madness taking a hold of her once more and felt the need to take action. She felt the Earth rumble beneath her at the onset of her first idea, and Jean felt too, too little too late.

The buildings Jean had recently re-parted came crashing down in tons of bricks and mortar and rubble on her. Rogue had taken advantage of Jean's momentary distracted state to try and stop her. But as the dust settled, Rogue knew it was just the quiet before the storm.

Boom!!!

Jean burst forth from the rubble. Rogue saw her and reacted to her presence by using the powers of a personality Jean knew, hopefully knocking some sense into her - but Rogue feared that the situation had gone beyond that point at this stage. Red laser blasts shot forth from her eyes at the maximum force she could muster, but bounced off Jean's newly formed, seemingly in penetrable shield.

Rogue realised it would never work, so ceased her activities. Jean created a whirlwind of dust and rubble from the debris and hurled it at Rogue - who she could see standing in the middle of the quad. The wind moved fast but Rogue moved faster with the power of Quicksilver. At this stage Jean had caught on to what she was doing and rolled her eyes.

With a flick of her wrist, Jean caught Rogue in the air, preventing her from running away and brought her closer to her, letting the dust settle around them. Rogue struggled and thrashed against the invisible restraints as her eyes met those of pure darkness. She looked Jean in the eyes, Rogue trying to mirror her strong and unafraid face.

"Jean?" She asked simply. Jean, or the darker side of Jean, slowly shook her head from side to side.

"**No."** She answered with a sigh as she thought of all the delightful possibilities for Rogue's demise that presented before her, starting to glow with the prospects. Rogue nodded slowly in response.

"Good." Rogue stated with a fresh look of determination.

Bamf!

"**No!"** Jean shouted, annoyed that her catch had gotten away from her, but she wasn't kept in suspense for long as Rogue reappeared inside her telekinetic bubble immediately behind her. Before Jean could react, she had one arm tight around her neck.

"Ah'm sorry, Jean." Rogue whispered remorsefully, hopefully getting through to the personality she would call her friend.

Snikt!

Rogue extended her bone claws on her free hand and swiftly and deliberately stabbed Jean through her side. Jean, the real Jean, screamed in pain - her other half abandoning her to let her take the hurt.

Un-snikt!

Rogue retracted her claws quickly at the sound. Jean lost her grip on her powers, as they fell to the ground with a crash. They landed together painfully. Rogue could see Jean looking back at her, scared and bleeding.

"Rogue, help me... Please..." She begged. Rogue came closer but was pushed back by an invisible slash along her front. Rogues hands clutched her stomach, trying to stop the blood - but the wound was not too deep. She looked back at Jean who was clutching her side but her face and eyes were flickering between Jean and the other Jean; her breathing was becoming more laboured.

"Help me!" Jean pleaded.

"**No!"** She pushed Rogue back again. **"Stay away from us!"** She hissed.

"Jean, let me help you!" Rogue calmly told her tormented friend. Rogue let her wounds bleed as she approached Jean who had folded on her knees. Rogue knelt before her and gripped her gloved hands on either side of her face - anchoring herself against the next telekinetic slash that never came. She brought the exposed skin on her face closer to Jean's forehead. Jean suddenly felt very drained and tired and then everything went white...

oOo

"What are you doing here, Logan?" Spyke queried - not be able to help the demanding and intimidating vibe he gave off to the chamber. It would have been formidable had it not been Logan that he was talking to.

"Came to see you." Logan responded. Evan sighed and shook his head.

"Auntie-O looking for me again?" Evan was disappointed but not surprised. "I'd thought she'd get the picture by now!" Logan raised his hands to get him to calm down before he launched into a mutant enhanced teen rant; it was as much as his head could take right then.

"No, Toothpick! We need to talk about that poison from Spear Sports." Evan's demeanour changed rapidly from angry to extra angry and then to quiet and calm. He gestured for Logan and Jamie to walk with him down along the dark sewers.

"What's going on, Logan?" Evan said seriously as they approached the next chamber where the sound of rushing water in large quantities echoed.

"We need to know the cure for that toxin." Logan told him to the point. They converged at the underground waterfall, the glow from the street lights shone through intermittently through the grids on the pavement. From one direction in the sewers came Ray and Callisto; from another arrived the Beast and Marrow and from the last were Wolverine and Spyke. From all three ran three young teens in a head-on collision for each other at the intersecting point. The Jamie's joined together and Callisto spoke up, having heard Logan's query.

"There is no_ cure_." Callisto said with venom, answering Logan's question morbidly. Evan's shoulders, or frame around his shoulders, slumped as he heard the answer he already knew from the chamber.

**En****d of Chapter 27**

**A.N. Review, review, review!!! **


	28. Chapter 28

**A.N. Well now, over 9000 hits! Thank you muchly! Loving the feedback too! Here's another dose for ye addicts out there in the verse!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****8**

The air was still and the world was silent. The water on the damp ground was evaporating in the warm night air casting a thick mist over the area. In the far off distance the sounds of sirens could be heard; fire brigades, ambulances, police squad cars; they were all rushing to the scene but for everyone else, it felt like slow motion. It had been quiet for long enough. Like animals emerging from their wooded shelter after a storm, people began to trickle out into the open. In their dream state, one by one they surveyed the damage. They walked around in a surrealistic slumber, only to be awakened from their disbelief at the thoughts of friends and love ones that may have been hurt in the madness.

In the midst of it all, two young men appeared as if from nowhere, smoke swirling around them and mixing with the fog. One was a tall silhouette, with glowing red on black eyes like the devil's own, and cards in the palm of his hand at the ready. The other creature's eyes glowed yellow in the dark. He was of average height but was shortened further by a crouched posture - his long tail swishing for balance in his urgent stance. The fog and the night made it difficult for anyone to see them as they walked purposefully to the centre of the green. They walked forward slowly and cautiously.

Before them, after a few moments of searching, the mist parted revealing the two women they had been looking for, broken down and busted, lying facing each other like gossiping friends at a slumber party. One of girl's gloved hands was trapped under the other's head, between her cheek and the ground. Both were unconscious and alive, but both were bleeding.

They quickened to their sides, Kurt Wagner to his sister's and Remy LeBeau, albeit reluctantly, to the side of Jean Grey. The sirens grew louder in the distance. Gambit tried to staunch the blood from Jean's side but there was a lot, too much. Nightcrawler tried to help Rogue with her wounds but decided that they were just wasting time trying to do anything about it here. He looked around, most people he could make out in the fog were too distracted to see them but one or two were starting to take notice. They were staring at the men with glowing eyes in the fog. Nightcrawler looked over at Gambit, who happened to be thinking along the same lines. Kurt reached out a hand to each girl and waited for Gambit's hand to descend on his shoulder.

Onlookers could barely tell, thinking that their eyes had deceived them as the strange shadows vanished in to the mist...

oOo

Carefully but swiftly they brought her on-board. There were a few gasps and questions but this was not a time for answers, this was a time for action.

Scott took his seat at the front alongside his past mentor and now colleague. He felt guilty for Rahne's state as a leader. Storm looked at him sadly. She must have been worried about Rahne too. He gave her a pathetic 'thumbs-up' - gesturing to her not to worry so much. Storm furrowed her brow but then looked over to Rahne as if noticing her for the first time. She looked back at Scott and nodded. Scott had enough time to look confused before the jet lurched up from the ground. Storm's face showed only determination as she took the first step towards bringing her team home. Scott felt like he left his stomach back on the ground. It was odd, he wasn't a nervous flyer and he only got air sickness on long haul flights without the sun. This feeling was new and foreboding. They had to get home...

oOo

He placed the headset down, his hands giving the slightest tremor. He adjusted the settings to keep track of all his students on their journeys home and turned his chair, facing down the long catwalk to the large, circular doors. He wheeled past them at an unwaveringly slow speed, not giving them a second glance and he feebly let the chair do the work - his hand on autopilot, not caring where he ended up. Forge and Alex just watched him leave.

As he moved, he couldn't help but let his thoughts plunge into all the regrets in his life. He thought about each and every person he had wronged or let down, tonight and over the years. The fresh guilt stirred and mixed with the old. He thought of Jean, first and foremost. He should have been more careful - or less careful, either way he should have handled things differently than how he did. David, his son, he was still mourning for the past years lost forever from his child and how he hated him for loving his students more than him. He thought of Moira, and how much he must have hurt her for her to never have told him that he had a son on another continent. And the pain for both of them to lose their son to powers and his more dominant alter ego. The fault was entirely his. He had no disillusions about. He thought of Rogue. He had promised to help her. Instead he hid her in the shadows, not wanting to let people see that he couldn't fix her. His perception of failure was transferred to her. He gave Kurt an image inducer - a quick fix to his problem but have nothing for her bar lies and secrets and mistrust. And now she knew it all, she knew just how far he was willing to go. He thought of Spyke and the pain of Ororo and her sister. He lost his way and it was his fault. Scott. Scott was a child that had known little love in his life. But here he had a home, and when Jean came it was like life itself was breathed into him - turning his world from shades of red to Technicolour. Was that all about to end? With his powers, he spent so much of his time trying not to feel what others have felt out of self-preservation. But after all these years, had what he used to call his discipline cut him off from any capability of empathy?

He stared at the large mahogany door for answers. Something within him, a private question, snapped him out of his reverie, telling him that doors won't hold the all the answers. They opened for him on a sensor and he went into his room. The question; how many of his students would return on their own two feet tonight? He needed to feel penance for his mistakes. His heart wrenched as he allowed himself to feel all the emotions that came with the baggage of life, parenthood, friendship, mutant, human and mentor. The doors waited a few moments but sensed his needs and closed behind him, plunging him into physical darkness, but it was there that he found solace. It was there that he cried...

oOo

The journey home was deathly quiet. The van barely made a sound as it drove heavily over all the imperfections in the road, powering its way home regardless. The oldest was driving.

The street lights flicked over the bonnet and windows in a steady rhythm. A young teen was in the back, afraid to say out loud what was on all of their minds. If he said it out loud then it would all be true and he didn't want that, he didn't want it to happen. He wanted to get back to their safe life to before Spears Sports, before Apocalypse, before they were outted as mutants, even before they were mutants. He wanted everything to go back to normal, well, as normal as things were yesterday. Maybe it wasn't true. Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding.

He looked over at the older teen sitting next to him breathing loudly through his nose. He was mourning for his friend's fate and didn't know how to feel. His blood was pumping with venom for Spears. He was fighting the need within himself to do something about it, but what could he do?

He looked diagonally over to the Beast in the front passenger seat of the van, hope invading his dark thoughts that he might know what to do. But the Beast didn't know what to do. This wasn't the first time he had completely and utterly failed someone. And Evan. Evan was just a child, a lost child. He just needed to find himself, but who had he found and at what cost to his health? Why had he waited so long to tell them; why had the Beast waited so long to research into the deadly mutant toxin? He never felt worse in himself than he did at that moment.

He frowned over to Logan in the driver's seat to gauge how he felt about all of this. Logan responded to Hank with a subtle nod in acknowledgement, a nod in acceptance before he returned his attentions to what was coming up ahead...

oOo

Her head lolled against the wall and bars as she fell in and out of sleep. The wall behind her back had warmed to her nearly her body temperature but was still drawing heat from her, making her cold. Her arm was weaved between the cool bars on her right; all in all, a wholly uncomfortable position. Her eyelids felt heavy but her heart was light as drifted to sleep.

She had been afraid to fall asleep. She didn't want to let her guard down and be taken without a fight. She didn't want to wake up and find out that she was alone. But her most basic fear was to fall asleep and never wake up again.

A frown crossed her half-asleep face. As she worried, the fingers on her right hand flexed. She smiled slightly as sleep finally came to her, her arm hanging limply through the bars, her hand relaxing into the warm hand of another as he mirrored her state of rest on the other side of the divide...

oOo

She breathed out and in again, and repeated the process. She was cold but the side of her face and one of her hands felt warm; a familiar thumb was rubbing her knuckles but the tactile was wrong. It stopped. She wanted to wake up and ask why he stopped; she really wanted to wake up.

She was truly beautiful, but that was nothing new to him. He cupped her cheek softly in his hand and examined her face. The scratches were not deep - they would heal without a trace. He brought his other hand closer to her face and brushed cold, damp cotton over the cuts.

It a slow pain burned through the fog around her senses. Someone was hurting her, it stung. She didn't understand. Unbidden tears came to the corners of her eyes but she didn't move a muscle.

A tear moved slowly down her temple and announced its presence to him by a warmth that quickly cooled along his index finger. He examined her face for any other signs of awareness but found none. He sighed. He was finished with the disinfectant and other first aid tools. He let his Russian friend put them away for him while he attended to the straps around her waist and legs that would keep her safe for the last few minutes of turbulence on their return journey then took his own seat beside hers for final descent. He took off the nitrile gloves and picked up her hand once more, resuming his vigil...

oOo

She walked through the darkness, though to her it was as bright as day. She walked forward strong, thought a slight frown crinkled her brow. She wanted to look back, but didn't. To show concern was nice, but to show weakness in troubled times was bad; and only having one functioning eye, she probably would have fallen over something. Marrow had no such issues as she followed at the same pace as Evan. She looked over at him; his face was angry but determined to forget what had just happened. The anger was a permanent feature on his face these days, a result of his constantly growing and changing mutations. He was just like her in ways, but she wasn't as willing to accept as he was that this was life now. She still had hope. He wasn't even trying to get to somewhere better.

She knew most of the Morlocks had had some trouble before she arrived with this poison - half her time was spent caring for the weaker in the bunch and the other half caring and fending for herself. Truth be told, she would never had joined them if she hadn't seen Evan. He reminded her of her when she saw him. She couldn't believe that there was someone out there in the world just like her. He was strong, powerful and confident. He didn't let his mutation hinder him in any way, in fact, he embraced it and used it to do what he thought was right. His were spikes, hers were bone, but she knew how painful it was all day every day. He had earned her respect that day and she had put him on a pedestal. But only from a height can one fall.

Her idolisation grew every day she was with the Morlocks, even when she had learned of the mutant toxin that they were all subjected to, and how they fought against their extermination. She learned of the ill effects it had on each of them, which varied for most, and how they dealt with the symptoms. She felt like she was being guided so rightly by these people, her mentors. She even started to accept her mutation, despite the pain it caused her, because that was what he did. It was all going so well, until she overheard Callisto and Spyke arguing privately.

She wanted him to stop what he was doing. He never let any of them help him, the only one allowed to help was Marrow and she didn't understand why. He told her he didn't have to explain himself to anyone. She told him he didn't, but that said she wasn't going to let him leave without knowing. Marrow could tear herself away from the heated discussion now, especially when she heard her name. Evan quietly and calmly explained that he and Marrow needed to be the ones to fight and defend the group and that it helped them with their powers, it helped them cope. Marrow couldn't fault his logic but Callisto could. Marrow wasn't the same as him. The words sounded harsh on the girl, but they were said to make him realise something. Callisto wasn't concerned for Marrow's well-being; she was worried for Evan's. Evan tried to defend himself but was shot down by Callisto. She ordered him to stop using his powers. Marrow didn't understand and didn't think Evan would stand for it. She heard his footsteps coming her way and scattered.

Since then, she has seen him at his best and at his worst. He didn't stop using his powers of course. It took her a few months to catch on that Evan didn't get sick like the others all that often, but when he did it was bad. He stopped the others at every opportunity from using their powers except for her. She knew what was happening now. Once in their system, the toxin remained dormant and manageable if the right remedies were used but mostly, it remained dormant when they didn't use their powers. For someone like Evan, it would be difficult to turn his mutation off but he was willing to max out if it meant no one else had to. He was killing himself slowly for them. The moment she realised that; that was the moment he fell...

oOo

The room was empty and dark. The monotonous dial tone was the only sound in the room as the phone hung loose on the receiver. He leaned back in his chair, an inch of twelve year old Midleton in a crystal tumbler, sitting on the arm rest lightly encased by his fingertips. The first drop hit his tongue, a delicate blend of honey and fruits and almonds beneath the immediate taste of bourbon flavoured oak. It was a rare treat. He sipped away at it; his mature features being illuminated by different lights and shades flickering from the other side of his office. The display screen was showing scenes of destruction and mayhem in two different states. Worthington soaked the information up. In front of him on his desk were plans and paper work that officially did not exist, the exact figures and expenditure for his little projects on the side. And now this happens... He propped his feet up on the desk and leaned further back into the chair. He picked up his glass and paused just before the rim met his lips. He smiled. This was going to be a good day...

oOo

The blades were only beginning to slow a fraction when everyone was up and moving fast not saying a word, the noise of the blades making it pointless to try. He was surprised that Rogue and Kurt didn't even take the time to land the chopper in the hanger but dropped straight down on the front driveway, as close to the door as their limited piloting skills would allow. From a window above he saw Forge and Alex had run out to help but quickly turned on their heels most likely to prep the medical bay. He sensed multiple wounded. They let the chopper run down and focused on carrying their wounded. He recognised Duncan Matthews immediately as Cannonball carried him into the building sensing a strange twist in his psyche. That alone was an alarming event. Next he witnessed Jubilee and Tabitha emerging from the chopper carrying Laura between them - completely out but brainwaves normal. Gambit crawled out carefully, a petite frame wrapped up in his trench coat. Xavier could only sense who it was through Gambit. He felt a weight on his heart. It was Rogue. Gambit carried her in as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Xavier was about to move but he could sense more in the chopper; Kurt hopping out of his seat to take Kitty and their last patient straight to the medical wing. Her mental state and injuries, he sensed from their panic, were severe...

**En****d of Chapter 28**

A.N. Hmm, there's something different about this chapter from all the others... (I'm starting to sound like sesame street). What do you think it is? Well, how we all doin? Still with me? Nearly at the 100,000 word count now so if you have read this far and not reviewed yet - let me know what you think, good/bad/indifferent. If you have reviewed; thank you and sure since you're here, review again! I'd like to know that I haven't lost anyone along the way - although if I did, would they be reading this?


	29. Chapter 29

**A.N. Thank Wootness, ye're still with me! Well, I admit there was not much proof reading for the last chapter, mea culpa, hope it didn't inhibit yer enjoyment in anyway but I'm greatful for the reviews! Had loads of time to go back over this chapter this week and publish at the start of the weekend for a change: food poisoning = two days off work, two days off work + no internet mid-week + bad daytime TV = early ff chapter! See, isn't maths fun! Ah well, here's the next part - R&R - RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 2****9**

She felt warm and loved. All her world around her was just floating by like a pleasant dream. It was absolute bliss. She thought she could hear someone talking. Things were muffled in the dark. She didn't really care so she tried to tune them out as best she could, however the voices were started to sound familiar and then she didn't want to tune them out. They sounded concerned and upset, even angry.

"...volunteered! I didn't tell you to go after him, so don't blame me for what happened to her!"

She heard the voices directly above her and felt the bed move. The voices were very angry.

"She was on _your_ team! She was _your_ responsibility!"

"_I_ was the one who saved her when we found her."

"She should have been on the plane! She shouldn't have been alone!"

"_You_ were supposed to be with her! Colossus could have handled him."

She was confused. They were her friends, why were they fighting? Were they fighting over her? That was silly. Why would they sound so worried about her? She needed to tell them that everything was going to be okay. She felt a hand holding hers. She squeezed.

"-berto..." She whispered faintly.

Everything, all the voices, all the movement she had heard about her stopped and went still. Just when she thought they had all disappeared, suddenly she heard them jump in reaction to her voice. She felt a hand immediately brush back her short hair and come to a rest over her ear and temple.

"Rahne?" She heard him whisper back to her, she could sense his face close to hers even though her eyes were closed. She wanted to see him, so her eyes struggled to open to his. After an initial flutter of her eyes - his face became clear and he was smiling. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Would ye give it a rest 'n' stop fightin' over me?" She frowned at him. If it was possible, he smiled even more and even let out a little laugh before closing the distance between them and kissing her. Her frown of indignation turned to one of surprise but then it far too quickly relaxed and disappeared altogether, as she kissed him sleepily back.

An eternity passed before Rahne became acutely aware of the presence of others, upon hearing Ororo cough diplomatically. Roberto felt her tense and they broke apart. Before facing the others he whispered to her.

"Never seemed to get a chance to do that..." She smiled stupidly despite herself and looked around to the others around her. Magma was grinning foolishly like Rahne. Colossus was, of course, as stoic as ever. Iceman tried to mirror his cool in front of Magma. Scott exhaled a sigh of relief that she was okay and talking. They had no idea how long she had been down and not breathing. None of them said it out loud but they had all been worried of brain damage from lack of Oxygen, but he was distracted by something that had caught his eye through the window causing him to run quickly down the ramp of the X-jet. Ororo barely let a smile grace her lips before she too looked out the window of the cockpit to see Alex fast approaching.

oOo

He was flying high in the cold night air, moments before dawn. Far below him, he had found the building that he had been looking for. Despite the state of the economy, it was working around the clock, according to the files he had found. It was a warehouse that housed a former steel beams and girders manufacturing facility. It was owned by his father.

He perched just outside the open fire escape window and peered into the factory floor. Most of the operations looked like generic steel work. However, he would be the first to admit that steel work, or any manual labour for that matter, was not his forte. But further down the line where more and more parts were being brought together and assembled, even he started recognising the familiar shapes that had featured in many a nightmare. Warren was appalled that his father had gone this far.

He watched the workers work tirelessly on the bodywork by large robotic welding arms and others assemble by hand the finer components of the Sentinels. It must have been obvious to them what they were making but they still made them with vigour. Had the opportunity for employment overridden any morals? Again, Warren had never felt the hardship of poverty to be in a position to judge anyone for sacrificing ethics for a pay check, and who knows, there's a good chance that a lot of these people would have volunteered for these duties.

There were others standing on the suspended grid floor in front of him as they walked over and high above the factory floor, discussing production progress and plans for expansion of this monster making machine. Warren could not hear them properly for the sound of the equipment drowned them out. They were looking over equipment drawings and plans and following the line from start to finish, indicating to the large doors at the other end of the room for the finished product. Warren followed to where they were indicating.

He leapt from the fire escape to fly up a few metres and glide silently to the other side of the building to another conveniently placed fire escape. He nearly fell back from the mesh covered window when he saw twenty-eight Sentinels staring right back at him. It was a reflex and a moment later he had realised that none of them were alive or active and relaxed as much as he could around them, his logical and educated brain fighting his 'flight' reflex. The lights were on in the room, illuminating them all for his terror. The light served a purpose to the men below who were carefully unloading briefcase type boxes of, what appeared to be, medical supplies from an ambulance. Four cases or trays each of ten carefully packed darts were being taken out one by one and loaded into thin slots on the forearms of the first Sentinel in the row. Twenty slots to each arm. Written on the side of each case were the letters 'LDX'. Warren remembered seeing the letters in his father's files but could not decipher what it was or what it was in reference to. But he did know that it was a collaboration project between his father and another well-known business man - Guy Spears.

It wasn't long before the sinister needles were all loaded and the men were closing the doors on the Ambulance to head away again. Warren had a decision to make - head to the Xavier Institute and tell them what he saw or follow this ambulance to find where this 'LDX' was coming from. Even as he thought about it he knew that that decision had long since been made. He stretched his wings and took off hovering a safe distance away from the ambulance as he followed it to its point of origin against the light of dawn.

oOo

Jubilee stood - almost frozen in place staring at the red headed woman. Her thoughts had brought her back to the campus in Rochester to when she was frozen in mid-air next to Gambit and scared for her life. But Gambit was the one to snap her out of her reverie.

"Jubilee!" He yelled across the room to the girl. She jumped and kicked into action - walking past Jean's bed to where Kitty and Forge were trying their best to treat her injuries and proceeded bringing fresh gauze and wound packing to where Remy and Tabitha and were working on Rogue.

The room was normally divided by curtains and screens but most had been foregone with for the immediate future. There were four beds in a row, the first and most critical patient at the door, which of course was Jean. She was unconscious and bleeding profusely from three distinct deep puncture marks in her side. Kitty was rushing to assist Forge's attempts to arrest the bleeding but they really needed Hank or the Professor. The next bed held Rogue, her skin and clothes slashed by claw marks all over - most were minor but some were pretty deep. Either way, none explained why she was still unconscious. Remy and Tabitha were treating the wounds well, prioritising the deepest. Jubilee was running between both with supplies as her medical knowledge was limited. Kurt was attending to Duncan Matthews, strapping him into the next bed and setting up the monitors - however there was little else he could do for him. Whatever Jean had done to him, only the Professor stood a chance at rectifying the matter. Laura was in the last bed, unconscious but otherwise unharmed. Sam was just finishing tying the buckle on the last restraint, of which there were many, on Laura. Given her unpredictable nature, it was decided that they could do without the added drama if she were to wake up and object.

Xavier wheeled into the room. There was no time to be shocked. He went straight to Jean's table knowing form everyone in the room where he was needed most. He hadn't carried out any surgical procedures for years and certainly never solo, but he was her best hope, even if he was a little rusty. Nonetheless, the table was lowered for access to her side as he gowned up roughly and put on a surgical mask. The curtain was pulled around them as he snapped on a pair of sterile nitrile gloves. He picked up the tools he would need without hesitation and uncovered the deep punctures in Jean's right side. He briefly paused to identify the cause of the three distinct puncture marks as Rogue's handiwork. As he started to explore the wounds, he sent out a psychic message to Kurt.

oOo

As they pulled into the driveway, the image of the helicopter sitting on the front lawn was their first clue that something had gone awry.

"Oh my stars and garters!" The Beast exclaimed; earning him a few questioning looks from the others in the van with him. "What?" He asked them.

Logan sped up the van and used a handbrake turn to pull it to a complete stop right next the chopper. With the speed of lightning, he got out of the van, the Beast, Ray and Jamie quick to follow. One sniff and he had the gist of the story: Jubilee and Kitty half scared to death, Laura's scent on a gurney and some kid that used to be Jean's boyfriend. Sam, Tabitha, Kurt and Gambit were in the chopper too but what stood out the most to his olfactory was the scent of blood from Jean and Rogue. Jean was probably still wounded but he was hoping that Rogue had given the healing factor a workout since.

"Rogue and Jean are hurt bad." He told the others the cliff notes version before turning sharply to head for the medical bay.

Bamf!

Kurt teleported directly in front of Hank and grabbed his arm.

"No time to explain!" Kurt shouted before teleporting the two of them away again.

Bamf!

The only effect that that had had on the three left behind in the smoke was to make them run faster.

oOo

Hank and Kurt appeared in front of the curtain concealing Jean, where he was immediately set upon by Sam and Jubilee gowning him to cover as much exposed fur as possible.

"Jean's been stabbed in her right side. The Professor is working on her but needs your help." Kitty filled in Mr. McCoy as quickly as her gift of speech would allow.

He was given no time to react before he went to operate alongside Xavier. He disappeared behind the curtain.

It wasn't long before Wolverine had made his way down, eyes darting between Rogue and Laura from the doorway. Laura had no physical injuries that he could tell, and she was unconscious. Rogue was also out but she was wounded. Her he could help.

He went to Rogue's right side immediately. Tabitha jumped out of his way, biting back a tempting comment about his state of shredded clothing without a mark on all that nice skin that was showing. She wasn't suicidal. Gambit stood across from him, leaning over Rogue, dressing the worst of the wounds having managed enough amateur stitches to stop the heavy bleeding. Logan looked at the damage and her pale, still face before looking up at Gambit.

"What the hell happened, bub?" He growled out in a disturbingly low and threatening tone.

"Jean lost it. Rogue took her on, 'n' dis was de result. None of us saw what happened." Gambit told him quickly, not giving Logan a minute of his attention away from Rogue.

"You left her to fight on her own-" Logan started before Gambit's head snapped up at the accusation.

"Hey! No one left her! She was callin' de shots!" Kurt approached the bed cautiously.

"Wolverine, she decided that she had enough power to stop Jean." Kurt informed him quietly and slowly in his thick Bavarian accent. Logan looked between the elf and the swamp rat; did they know of the extent of her abilities? A brief nod from each, confirmed it. They looked at Rogue before Kurt finished his thoughts. "Evidently, she was right."

A few moments silence extended between them as they each went over the possible scenarios in their heads, each forming theories as to how she managed to bring Jean down. Gambit had seen the wounds on Jean and had decided immediately that Rogue had used her claws to stab Jean at some stage during their fight. He picked up her left hand with his gloved ones and examined between her knuckles.

"What are you doing?" Logan snarled quickly.

"She must'a stabbed Jean at some point, de wound was on Jean's right, Ah'm looking for de puncture marks." Logan looked down at her other hand as Gambit sighed in frustration. "Dey must 'a' healed by now." He gently placed her hand back on the bed.

"No, swamp rat, they didn't." Logan raised her right hand to reveal the three puncture marks that had been dressed by Tabitha previously. Rogue had stabbed Jean's right side with her right hand, she stabbed her from behind.

"Why isn't she healing?" Kurt asked with a frown, bringing Gambit and Logan back from forming their theories and conclusions. Kurt turned to Logan for answers before Gambit proposed his own similar questions.

"She has your healing factor, but none o' her injuries have healed yet?" Remy asked the feral mutant before him, thinking he should have all the answers. But the way he posed the question, sent a bitter wave of accountability on Logan - like this was his fault.

"It's not as easy as it looks, Gumbo." He addressed Gambit's question first, quietly. "It requires focus to use a power. The healing factor's only ever been a problem if she's trying to use another power at the same time."

"I don't get it." Kurt chimed in slowly at first. "If she was close enough to Jean to," Kurt hesitiated on the next word, "'injure' her from behind, she should have been close enough to drain her. Why would she be trying to use another power?" They looked down at Rogue, forming brand new theories but none seemed to pan out.

As much as they looked at her for inspiration, they all couldn't take their eyes off her wounds. Logan didn't like seeing her this way, not when he could help it. He made a decision and Kurt and Gambit stood back to watch it happen.

Xavier came out from behind the curtain pulling it aside and wiping the sweat from his brow. He and Hank had isolated the major bleeders in Jean's abdomen. He was just in time to see Logan leaning forward to Rogue's bed to kiss her forehead.

"Logan, no!" Xavier shouted but it was too late.

Rogue's skin had activated naturally to drain Logan of his life-force and powers as like any skin contact before. But Xavier was right to worry. Logan stumbled back from the girl and from the drain, and was caught by more than one well-placed Jamie. Rogue's skin healed rapidly but her back arched and her face pained as did the faces of the other three patients in the ward alongside her. Three claws shot out from each of her hands.

Snikt! Snikt!

Everyone jumped back from the four beds, with a bit more distance for Rogue's, and watched them react to something interconnected to Rogue.

"No!" Rogue screamed out between gritted teeth as her eyes fluttered open through the frown but tried to silence everyone once more. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her muscles relaxed. Her still body fell back to the bed, the claws retracting once more.

Un-snikt! Un-snikt!

As she stilled, so did the bodies of Duncan, Laura and Jean. Everyone was left in a stunned silence.

BANG!

Everyone jumped at the sound of the doors bursting open from Alex and Scott entering the room.

"What's going on?" Scott demanded as Ororo entered behind them. Logan shrugged off the four Jamie's that were keeping him on his feet, having noticed the six bleeding wounds on Rogue's knuckles, and looked pointedly at Charles as he answered Cyclops.

"That's a real good question, Slim." He growled out as he recovered from more than just the drain.

**En****d of Chapter 29**

_A.N. Well now, what on Earth is going on there?_

_..._

_Just hafta wait and see! Hee hee!_

_So the last chapter, chapter 28 - what was so different? _

_No dialogue... _

_I was trying to find a way of creating an almost silent movie feel (but using writing so don'__t really know how that works) for the aftermath so I kinda took a 'nuff said' approach to that chapter to make things a bit more ominous after the big fight. (Although I think I cheated when Marrow was recounting the conversation between Spyke and Callisto) Still, I tried but I don't think 'nuff said' can truly survive outside the comic book world. But don't my word for it - maybe it can become an FF challenge?_

_Anyway, nice reviews on the last chapter and in general so far for the whole story! I'm loving them, they make me smile - and then people ask why I'm smiling and I tell them all about fanfiction, so really, reviewing is a win-win humanitarian act that benefits the whole world!_

_..._

_Now if you read all that waffle then you must really like this story! c",) Thanks for reading!!!! RR_


	30. Chapter 30

**A.N. ****Over 10,000 hits! I'll stop updating now since I've met my target... Only joking! I'll never stop! It's too addictive!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 30**

He was completely turned about; he had no idea where he was. He sniffed the air but got nothing. He frowned in perplexedly because he always got something. It might not be a strong scent or even relevant to his location but he always got something. Here there was literally nothing.

He hadn't even thought about it until now, but the place didn't have an image. Not light or dark - just simply nothing. As he thought it the world became bathed in the peach tones of a summer sunset over a wide meadow. It was beautiful but he didn't feel at home here. This was someone else's vision of serenity...

"Logan?!" A girl's voice cried out from behind him. He pivoted on the spot, a spot that he didn't even exist on until he thought of it. In fact, now he had a corporeal body in this place he noted that his clothes were no longer shredded. In fact, he was in his jeans and wife beater and boots. He turned into the bright sun towards the voice; a silhouette moved in and out of the way of the light coming closer to him but not too close, never too close. The sun obscured his vision creating a corona around her and would have prevented him from recognising the girl but that voice, to him, was unique and unmistakeable, even without advanced hearing.

"Rogue-" He started walking towards her silhouette, but she backed away from him. He froze in his place, he's known her to behave this way before but he couldn't see her face to read it. He thought she was going to sound timid or scared, but instead he got a lashing.

"Why?! Why did you do that?!" She shouted at him, her voice cracking with emotion. At first he didn't know what she was referring to, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out.

"You were hurt, kid." He informed her plainly and simply of the facts, his voice flat; he didn't want to spook her and have her run off there, wherever there was. His jaw flexed, the only tell on his poker face of his fading patience and growing concern, as he waited for a response from the brilliantly shaded figure.

"Ah was hurt?" Her voice was slightly huskier than usual, like she hadn't spoken for a while. She looked in his direction, the sun creating a halo around her head and shining through the white and brown locks. She turned in profile, she hugged her arms; he could tell that she was confused. She took a moment to think about it and Logan could feel the mental image, Rogue lying in the hospital bed, skin slashed and torn, being extracted from his head. She nodded as if she was remembering another life, her fingers tracing the skin on her collarbone and chest where the worst of gashes should be, dead to rights. "Yeah..." She said to herself more than anyone else. "Ah was hurt..."

"Yeah..." He nodded, tentatively taking a step closer to the side of the light. "Yeah, you were." He was an arm's length away from her but did not reach out. He could see her now. Her skin was bathed in the glow of the light; she was in her ripped jeans and a string top - like she wore in Alberta. Where ever they were, she was in her own skin for once. It would be a hard place to let go of, if she wanted to let go. Logan shook his head.

"I couldn't leave you there looking like that." He sighed. Her head jerked in a different direction but she didn't look at him. She was processing what he said, like he was far away and hard to hear.

"I could." She said, and then chose to rephrase her words. "I did." She said quietly, but she turned to face him sharply for the first time in their conversation, her head shaking slightly side to side pleading for him to understand. "But I didn't want to-" He waved it off.

"That's different, kid." He told her, his voice strangely calming. She let the words sink in pensively but her head shot up despite herself, all trace of weakness instantly disappeared from her voice.

"Where's Jean?" She said urgently on high alert.

"Red's right next to ya, kid." She turned her head to her right and saw the mental image shimmer into view of Jean lying in the hospital bed next to them, courtesy of Logan's very recent memories.

"Oh, God! Did Ah do that?" They stared at the three, still open but internally stitched wounds on Jean's far side.

"Wasn't me, kid..." He shrugged and paused awkwardly. He needed to broach the subject she seemed to have forgotten. One to him that was so fresh in his mind only moments ago but he could feel the effects of this place on his thoughts, like a fog over his mind. "What the hell happened out there, Stripes?" She stared into space, into his chest in front of her, trying to remember.

"Don't ask me about it, Logan... Please..." She dipped her head low and shrunk into herself hugging herself tightly. She started to shiver and shake her head slowly trying not to think about it, but that was easier said than thought.

Behind her the sun dipped low in the sky, but instead of the stars coming out the sky blackened. The heavens opened upon them in this once beautiful place, drenching the Wolverine and the Rogue. Behind them he watched nightmarish shadows dance in and out of view.

Rogue ran her fingers through her wet hair, pressing her hands against her scalp as she went - her eyes were closed. She was trying to stop it, to not think about it.

The environment illuminated ghosts behind her for him to witness. The first image to appear was of the half-pint, screaming into the dirt, something trapping her in her own mind. Some details where missing and objects were blurred in the background. They were not important. Near Kitty, he watched Jubilee and Gambit quickly become prisoners of war. All he could do was watch as Jean took sadistic pleasure in every moment.

Rogue was replaying the battle either for him or because of him. He wasn't sure but his attention was undivided.

The dark fiery form that was Jean approached Gambit threateningly. He could tell that she was about to do something purely evil - which was something he would have never imagined Jean being capable of had he not already suffered her outrageous fortunes earlier that day.

"No..." She whispered to herself. Rogue fell to her knees, still facing him as the memory played out behind her. He knelt down too and brought an arm forward to touch her shoulder but let it hover inches above her exposed skin, but all the while, he could not tear his eyes away from the scene as sparks began to fly.

KRA-KA-BOOM!!!

Jean was suddenly blasted back from her target by a magnificent bolt of lightning, striking her on the chest. Rogue shook in front of him but the blast seemed to have come from behind him. He turned to see a ghost Ororo Munroe standing strong, lightning wielded in her hand and eyes shining brightly and distinguished from the many other shadows moving behind him.

He was unconcerned by the sudden appearance of the weather witch - much like the way he had not even paused to spare a thought for where he was or what was happening since he got here. He just went with the flow. He turned back to the battle as it skipped forward a fraction.

Jean was standing out boldly in the distance taunting Rogue after each lightning bolt failed to strike. Behind him, Ororo stepped back from the crowd as Magneto stepped forward a hand raised. He didn't feel anything from it but a metal garbage can did catch Jean unawares. It struck her hard and she was quickly distracted by wire fencing that Magneto used to try to trap her, but dealt with it and recovered quickly. She spotted Rogue and Logan in the distance.

Logan was frozen like a deer caught in headlights. Did she see them there or was this still part of the memory? He looked around him and saw two high brick walls on either side. He heard Ororo scream from somewhere behind as the walls began to shake.

Rogue's head rose to look directly at him. She reached forwards and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, squeezing her eyes shut, burying her head in his neck and collarbone. Her skin was damp and her nose was cold.

A two-fingered hand descended on each of their backs. Logan, who was still taken aback by Rogue's spontaneous embrace, had his eyes wide open and looked up in to the glowing eyes of Kurt Wagner who was about to save them from the crushing walls.

Instead of their small group teleporting to a different location, the scene behind them was suddenly enshrouded in a silent smoke and then magically, the smoke dissipated and he could see that the scene had changed to a whole new angle.

Jean, the Jean they all knew, had briefly come to her senses had pushed apart the walls once more, with great effort, he noted, in an attempt to rectify the situation where she truly believed that she had crushed Rogue. Suddenly an invisible force grabbed her like she had done earlier to Jubilee and Gambit. She was pushed, her back up against the wall, clawing at her own neck for air.

Kurt had disappeared in to the shadowed crowd behind him once more as Rogue slowly released her hold on Logan and looked directly into his eyes, determination written all over her face.

She stepped away from him the moment Jean was released from the wall. Jean had acquiesced to the demands of her darker side.

Rogue walked towards where Jean was picking herself back up in strength, Avalanche followed behind Rogue diligently.

Rogue stood there strong as Avalanche crouched low, placing one hand on the ground - his eyes rolling back in his head. The Earth began to shake and the ripples travelled along ground directly towards Jean and the buildings around her. They came crushing down by gravitational force but that was not enough to stop her as she burst through the rubble and Cyclops stepped forward from the crowd to take Avalanche's place.

Logan watched as Scott place a hand on Rogue's shoulder and placed the other by his temple to shoot optic blasts at maximum power at his girlfriend, but her impenetrable shield deflected them as if they were nothing to her.

Suddenly, the air picked up around him and Rogue as Scott retired to the shadows. Logan looked around expecting to see Ororo stand by Rogue as the trend of events seemed to suggest, but when the wind and debris started to head in Rogue's direction, that was when he figured out who was really in control.

Quicksilver sprung forth from the shadows and picked up Rogue to save her from the debris, but it wasn't long before Jean had them both suspended mid-air. Quicksilver slipped away, back to the crowd by Rogue's will as she thrashed against Jean's powerful, invisible restraints.

Jean brought her closer to her. Rogue looked to Logan sadly, communicating to him her guilt and sorrow for what he was about to witness, but turned to face Jean with a look that told her loud and clear that she was not afraid.

"Jean?" Rogue asked as Nightcrawler appeared behind her, taking her shoulders. Jean shook her head with a smile. Rogue nodded, taking her brothers hands. "Good."

She and Kurt disappeared before Logan's eyes. The scene jumped and returned to almost the same image but just jolted a fraction of an angle. Kurt appeared behind Jean, without Rogue. Rogue was standing next to Logan once more. Kurt grabbed Jean tightly around her neck from behind. Kurt's appearance started to change after he whispered something of an apology to Jean, his form changing to someone else. Logan watched and saw himself take the elf's place - his face the face of an animal.

Something about that didn't sit well with him, but he watched himself do what he did best.

Snikt!

For the first time in his limited memory of his life, he flinched at the sound of his own Adamantium claws, but then again, they weren't Adamantium - on closer inspection, they were made of bone.

It happened fast, the claws came out and as soon as they were extracted they were plunged powerfully into Jean's side.

She screamed but Logan didn't hear it - he was transfixed, watching himself hurt someone he was supposed to protect. His face remained strong but that didn't hide it. A small hand slipped into his and pulled him out of his own spiral of guilt. Her hand was cold but the intent was warm. He looked down at Rogue.

"It was me, not you." She told him, jaw set strong and confident. He didn't know if that was supposed to make him feel better or worse about the situation.

A thump and an 'Un-Snikt!" brought their attention back to the fight. Jean and Logan's ghost crashed to the ground awkwardly. Rogue let go of Logan's hand like before and walked towards the injured mutant. Logan's spirit walked backwards to the shadowed crowd, his job done. Two shadowed figures started to walk slowly towards Jean as Rogue was doing at the same pace.

Jean was lying on the ground bleeding and saw Rogue approach her.

"Rogue, help me... Please..." She begged but kept forcing Rogue back from her - the slashed he had seen earlier forming once more on her skin, but Rogue did not falter. Jean remained conflicted but Rogue kept moving forward as did the other two figures from the black. Logan hoped that one would be himself again to heal Rogue's wounds but he knew from seeing her state in the hospital that that didn't happen.

Rogue came closer to Jean, close enough to kneel before her and place her now gloved hands on either side of her face, anchoring herself to her as the two shadows did the same from behind Jean. Rogue was bringing Jean closer to her and closed her eyes in concentration. She almost touched her lips to Jean's forehead to end the torment, and just as Logan became worried for Rogue's sanity to have that dark personality trapped within her, she stopped, Jean's skin mere millimetres from her.

Logan didn't know what she was doing until the figures became clear. When they did, he realised what a feat Rogue was attempting and why she was concentrating so hard on the task. Behind Jean on one side, the shadow became a face, revealing Xavier as he placed his hands at either side of Jean's head and closed his eyes in concentration like Rogue. There was something of sorrow on his face.

"Forgive me, Jean." He whispered in a way of more than just an apology for this moment.

The other shadow became illuminated in a soft fiery glow and mimicked Xavier's actions. It was Jean, the Jean Rogue had absorbed a long time ago when she first lost control.

Their minds connected. The three of them were deep in concentration; they're powers combining via Rogue to subdue Jean's dark side. Logan could perceive the telepathic power in this place, a magenta glow from Xavier and Jean's spirits to Rogue and from Rogue to the Jean between the three of them. Jean's eyes grew heavy as she gave in and finally stopped fighting.

Jean collapsed between them, alive and subdued but bleeding, but as she fell, the spirit of her dark side remained kneeling before them, fighting it.

Charles and Jean started to show the strain of fighting her but Rogue was determined to succeed. Their ghostly appearances flickered and Charles was the first to fade back to the background leaving Rogue to fight fire with fire. Her captured spirit of Jean was all she had in defence against the dark version that she was fighting.

The darker Jean's astral self grew in size and power, drawing energy from anything and everything to survive. Rogue struggled but would not give up. Logan knew this was all in the past but that it didn't make it any less nerve-wracking.

Jean, Rogue's version Jean, looked to Rogue as the two made a decision. Jean's spirit floated around the darker form towards Jean and phased into Rogue's body, merging their efforts. Rogue took in the power and accepted it completely. She glowed brightly - flames all around her taking the form of a giant phoenix.

The darker Jean glowed with a violent dark fire, only fractions of seconds behind her but Rogue had the advantage. She had accepted the power that Jean gave her, bringing her to her full potential, whereas the real Jean had collapsed from fighting the darker, split personality within her which was now acting as a parasite. Rogue had more power now, and more importantly, knew how to use it.

The bright flames surrounding Rogue engulfed the dark astral form of Jean, crushing her and binding her powers to end this battle.

Logan couldn't look, physically. The flames were so bright it was like staring into a supernova. When the flames receded and Logan's retina had healed, he saw Rogue standing over Jean's still form, her mind still reeling from the psychic strain, her wounds still bleeding. She fell sideways from her kneeling stance and fell next to Jean.

Logan rushed forwards as the scene disappeared but Rogue remained on the ground. The environment morphed and changed back to the serene tones of peach in the sunset. Rogue still had the glow of psychic energy around her when he knelt beside her, scooping her up into his lap as if she weighed nothing. Her eyes were still closed. Her bare arms and shoulders were in direct contact with the skin of his arms as he cradled her and brushed hair from her face.

The wounds were back again. Despite the psychic glow and the fact that he knew better than to tax her system, he still wanted her to heal and wake up. He supported the back of her head in one of his hands and shook her gently.

"You gotta wake up, kid..." He told her quietly, the vibrations of his voice reverberating through her. "Rogue...?" He brought his face closer to her forehead and touched her skin. He didn't know what he was expecting to happen, but just when he thought it wasn't working he started to feel weak and cold. Her eyes snapped open.

"No!" She shouted at him, flames engulfing them both. He felt the telekinetic push against his chest causing him to break skin contact with her. In that instant the world around them changed from muted tones to harsh reality.

Lights appeared high in his vision, fluorescent hospital lights and cold metal bed railings and tiled floors, the place stinking of disinfectant. A barrage of images assaulted him as he fell back. They were of things that he couldn't have possibly known about, that she had never told him about. Some that had happened years ago and some that had happened just this morning. It was a psychic assault.

Four pairs of hands caught him to steady him as he started to recover from the drain and the psychic connection. When his eyes adjusted to the lights he saw Rogue in front of him, back arched, claws out, her body in shock. Behind him he heard Jean move and react - sensing the darkness rising from Rogue's fading link.

In those few seconds he had pieced together what had happened. He touched her skin and in those split seconds, she had used Jean's powers to shown him what had happened at the battle. What had seemed like minutes were really being shown to him psychically at the speed of light. Using those powers, Rogue had been keeping the dark phoenix in check since the battle, but when he touched her, he forced her to use his power when she was already struggling to control Jean's powers.

As fast as it had happened, her body began to relax and fall back to the bed - everyone in the room stilling once more.

Un-snikt! Un-snikt!

BANG!

Everyone but Logan jumped at the sound of the doors bursting open from Summers and his brother entering the room.

"What's going on?" He demanded as Storm entered behind them. Logan shrugged off the four Jamie's that were keeping him on his feet, looking at the six still bleeding wounds on Rogue's knuckles, telling him that she had stopped using his powers once more and returned to using Jean's. He turned to look pointedly at Charles as he answered Cyclops.

"That's a real good question, Slim." He growled out at Xavier as he recovered from more than just the drain.

**En****d of Chapter 30**

_How was that? __Was that hard to follow? I thought an astral scene was needed to clarify - I bet everyone was convinced that Rogue had touched and absorbed Jean in chapter 27, yeah? Good, that's what I wanted you to think. I'm complicated that way, sorry..._

_P.S. It's my birthday today__ too! Woot! So now you have to leave me a review! Maybe twenty-three reviews to mark the occasion...? Nah, wishful thinking there I'd say!_


	31. Chapter 31

**A.N. ****Hey, thanks for the birthday wishes in the reviews! Here's more of the story - enjoy! R&R ~ Rí**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 31**

He wrapped the tape between her knuckles quietly and diligently, with great care, sticking it securely to the cotton wrap he had finished placing on the three clean cuts. He twisted himself awkwardly to make seamless repeating patterns in the whites, yet was always careful to be gentle with her. It was the least he could do after all she had done for them, but not everyone saw it that way.

He cut the tape and bandages only when he deemed them to be perfect and checked his work before putting her hand down on the bed carefully, releasing her from the warmth of his. He thought he had done a good job. Despite having four less fingers than everyone else, he was surprisingly graceful and nimble; not all fuzzy blue thumbs.

A sound distracted him from his work. He looked up in its direction across to the room, out the window and across the hall to where a shadow was moving back and forth as another two remained stationary on the facing, blind-drawn window. He could just about hear them, still talking. They had been talking for ages now and resolving nothing.

He looked over to his right where Ororo was brushing a stray hair from Jean's face, and Hank and Ororo were hovering nearby her quietly debating her status heatedly.

He looked over to his left where Alex was staring at Duncan Matthews - his eyes darting back to Jean every once and a while. He was clearly conflicted.

Beyond them was Laura, sleeping like a tired child; she hadn't woken up yet either; the Beast theorised that her healing factor was still fighting the very last of the toxin that she had been exposed to the other day, but the Professor had suggested that there was more to it. No one was watching over her.

Kurt stepped away from his sister's bed and strolled quietly by Ororo and Hank; who, despite their efforts, were not as quiet.

"We should take her to a hospital." Ororo whispered to Hank in hushed but urgent tones as they stood beyond Jean's curtain. Hank shook his head.

"Ordinarily, I would agree, but we have stopped the bleeding." He combated Ororo's logic with his own, but it wasn't strong enough to convince her of anything.

"I know, and that's wonderful but her injuries were extreme." Storm diplomatically tried to get her point across, thinking she was doing the best for her pupil.

"I'm afraid that she's wanted by the police." He told her bluntly. He sighed upon her confused expression. She had missed quite a bit. "Apparently, there is a campus in Rochester that now looks like a warzone." He summarised efficiently before remembering another crucial detail. "And let's not forget the kidnapping and torturing of a student." He indicated towards Duncan Matthews. "If we take her to a hospital, there is no knowing what number of crimes she'll be charged with, especially given that she is a known mutant." Storm paused briefly before responding.

"Yes, but is it worth risking her life?" Ororo reasoned, not at all comfortable with the situation.

"Judging from her actions, regardless of her control, is it worth risking her future?" Ororo ended their discussion simply by not being able to answer him but the lack of decision left a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach - were they doing the right thing?

Kurt slipped away, out the door and across the hall to where the shadows were talking heatedly. He didn't want to go in but he was curious as what as being said.

oOo

"I understand, Scott, but you have to calm down." Xavier pleaded patiently with his young friend who was wearing a path in the floor as he struggled to understand all that had happened.

"But she couldn't have done it! This is Jean we're talking about! Jean!" He shouted as if that was enough of an explanation for anyone. He ran the proposed scenarios through his head but just could not see what they saw. He started grasping at straws for different ways to explain what had happened. "Mesmero!" He yelled, causing Xavier and Logan to flick their heads a fraction more towards Scott.

"I'm sorry, Scott. Jean was in control of her own mind, so to speak." Xavier extinguished his theory quickly. He would not let Scott entertain the notion simply to delay the pain. "Jubilee told you her account of the events, as did Kitty, Kurt and Gambit." Scott shook his head and resumed his path around the room, not wanting to listen. Logan watched, leaning against the edge of a lab bench, arms folded, following the conversation and trying to decide what he would say to Chuck when he got the chance. Xavier hung his head and sighed. "I, myself, felt the effects of her loss of control." He told Scott slowly.

Logan squinted to the side, as if he was remembering something from a dream he once had a long time ago.

"In Cerebro?" He asked Chuck quietly, which was enough to get a reaction from Xavier, turning his head sharply to Logan in a questioning expression. How could he possibly have known that?

"How-" Charles started to say when Scott brought him back from the tangent he was on.

"But Professor! She couldn't do this!" Scott shouted once more, running his fingers through his hair - pulling it back from his forehead tightly. He had tried to accept what had happened. But Logan's patience was wearing thin. They had been dealing with the rogue Jean for the best part of twenty-four hours at this stage and he too had felt the effects of Jean's wrath - and had been shown it by the only person down in the trenches, the only person strong enough to stop her. He stood up fully and walked purposely over and stepped in Scott's way of his pacing, blocking him.

"Yes, she could, kid. And she did." Logan stated loudly and bluntly, hoping to shock him to his senses with his usual gruff demeanour. "But right now, she's lying across the hall and she's hurt. So, either you can stay here and keep pretending none of this happened or you can start trying to figure out how to help her and the other three people lying in those beds."

Cyclops stared back at Logan, anger flaring behind his visor. Just a glint of red light flickered through suggesting his fighting stance to Logan. But Logan stood his ground and didn't falter. After a few tense moments, Scott's concern for Jean over-rid nearly every other emotion and had near enough to the desired effect Logan was looking for. His shoulders pushed back and head high, he pushed past Logan and aimed for the door, seething but accepting.

Logan kept staring straight forwards as Xavier sighed.

"I can't say I'm fond of your tactics, Logan, but they certainly are effectiv-" Xavier started but Logan turned and walked out of the room like Scott had.

oOo

Logan pushed open the door violently and walked out, letting it swing shut behind him. He nearly walked into Kurt who was loitering by the doorway. He growled at him.

"Don't you have anything better to do, elf?" He voiced threateningly. Kurt looked up at him sadly.

"Ja, mein freund, I do." He turned and continued on his way, leaving Logan behind him. Logan looked after the elf, feeling slightly guilty for barking at him when his sister was fighting so hard in a hospital bed across the hall. He looked in through the window at her. Nothing had changed but everything had changed.

He turned and walked away from everything, the opposite way to Kurt.

oOo

He turned the corner and continued his pensive stroll down the long and endless corridor. He walked by the large circular doors to Cerebro, near his destination. They were open. He walked over to close the doors, not expecting anyone to be in there but he heard metal clinking. He paused to look in and saw Forge hammering and drilling quickly at the console, Piotr Rasputin assisting.

"I just got this baby back together and now I'm ripping it apart again?" He emphasised the word 'ripping' at the same moment that he pulled off the cover panel from the underside of the console and handing it to Piotr. "This gig is anything but restful." Forge wiped the sweat from his brow with his un-robotic arm.

"I was under the impression that you enjoyed such activities?" Piotr responded, placing the heavy panel out of the way with ease for the other mutant.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I enjoy disassembly and reassembly as much as the next guy." He looked at Piotr, 'the next guy'. "Well, okay, yeah, more than the next guy. But I'm running on empty here." The drill on his robotic arm revved down out of exhaustion. "Totally juiced, man..." Piotr simply shrugged, not seeing what the problem was.

"I suggest you use your human hands and tools." He told him in his thick Russian accent, not intending for it to sound as harsh as it did - just practical. But Forge suddenly felt a burst of energy as his arm revved up again and continued working to transfer Cerebro's power to the medical wing.

Kurt moved on, away from the doorway, having heard enough of the conversation for it to lose his interest. He carried on to a small supply closet hidden away, neatly flushed with the wall. It was impossible to discern from every other wall, the trick was that you just had know where to push in. Kurt ran his two fuzzy fingers over the metallic corridor walls, counting seams.

One.

Two.

Three.

On the fourth panel after Cerebro he stopped and pushed in on the left-hand side with little effort.

Click!

The panel popped out at his touch. He swung it open and reached in for white cotton gauze and tape, which he had ran out of previously when attending to Rogue. That was all he needed for her. He closed the panel with another 'click!' and turned to walk back, almost lost in his thoughts, almost.

He looked down at the gauze in his hands and saw that it was white - blindingly white. His brow furrowed as he stared at it.

Bamf!

He disappeared in to the smoke.

oOo

Bamf!

He wasn't expecting anyone to be in her room - but after being yelled at so frequently and not being in the mood to upset anyone today, he ported to the upper floors only and walked to the girls' dormitories from there.

He stepped lightly up the stairs, his tail balancing his every move unconsciously, but speed wasn't needed so he took his time. His right hand glided along the smooth, highly polished wooden balustrade as he went.

He reached the top of the staircase and turned towards the girls' rooms, and straight past the first few closed doors. The sound of talking and chatting was coming from the first room with an open door - a lot of chatter for such a sombre house.

He approached the open door of girls' voices with caution.

Just as he neared the door to knock on the frame for entrance, Roberto stepped out from the room.

"Hey, Kurt!" Roberto greeted him cheerfully. Quickly the voices hushed.

"Is that Blue?" Tabitha enquired loudly. Roberto sighed.

"Yip!" He called back in to them, pushing back the door to reveal Kurt to them and them to Kurt. Rahne was lying in her bed, smiling at them broadly. The Beast had told her she could retire to her own room, provided that she did nothing but rest and that there was someone was near-by keeping an eye on her. Sitting on her bed, surrounding her, were the eyes of Tabitha, Amara and Jubilee, all of whom were smiling. Tabitha scrunched up her face in mock defence at the boys in the doorway.

"Hey," Tabitha cried out, pretending to be upset, "No boys allowed!"

"Yeah, this is a girls-only zone." Amara joined the banter, giggling.

"We already kicked him out." Jubilee chimed in pointing at Roberto. She looked much happier than the last time he had seen her down in the infirmary - they all did. Whatever had inspired the mood shift, he was grateful for it. Kurt smiled back at them. Rahne looked at Kurt, her smile faltering for a serious question.

"How is ev'ryone b'low?" She asked soberly. Kurt's shoulders slumped a fraction as he answered.

"No change..." He answered quietly but informatively. Silence filled the room, before Tabitha decided to break it.

"Hey, Blue, could you do us a favour and get rid of this guy for us?" She pointed at Roberto next to him. "It's so much harder to talk about him when he's in the room... Not impossible, but harder." She playfully joked with them, getting people's smiles back. Roberto looked at Rahne, who shrugged and waved a small bye-bye in dismissal. He pretended to look a little dejected, playing along, but truth be told - if they were going to be talking about him he wanted to be in the furthest away place possible.

"Vell, we better not intrude, zen." Kurt slapped his freund on the shoulder and escorted him away for the door - his tail curving around the door handle to pull it closed with one final nod.

He and Roberto stood outside the closed door for a moment.

"How's Jean?" Roberto asked, feeling that there was more to it than he had said a moment ago. Kurt sighed.

"She is stable at the moment. But her injuries do not seem to be the problem. The Professor vill try to help her." He told him quietly.

"And Rogue?" Kurt sighed again and looked at the gauze in his hand.

"I do not know. There is no medical reason why she should not be avake yet. The Professor is going to try to help her too." Roberto gave him a pat on the back.

"She'll be okay." Roberto tried to reassure his friend the best he could under the circumstances, giving it his best shot to say the right thing. Kurt nodded and moved to walk on. Roberto turned to go the other way.

Kurt continued on and passed a few more doors before being one away from his destination.

"-so typical!" He heard Kitty's raised voice from her doorway. He stopped in his tracks to see if she was okay, not to eavesdrop...

"You're never there, I can never reach you!" She yelled. Kurt heard light steps coming closer to the door where he wasn't supposed to be. He quickly backed away from it and went to stand outside Rogue's door.

"Do me a favour; when you get this message-" She yanked open the door and instantly saw Kurt standing at the next one up, causing her to dramatically reduce in volume. "Don't call me back." She finished her thought before quickly hanging up her cell to Lance, looking quiet embarrassed in front of the fuzzy blue elf.

"Hi." She tucked some invisible stray hair behind her ear, quickly throwing her cell phone back into her room, landing with a bounce onto her bedspread and closing the door.

"Hi, Kitty." Kurt greeted her properly, not mentioning the phone call. She looked at where Kurt was standing with a questioning gaze. He looked at Rogue's door. "I was just going to get a few things to help her feel more comfortable." She nodded quickly in understanding.

"That's a great idea, Kurt." She responded as enthusiastically as she could muster, but something suggested that it was only half-hearted.

"Are you alright?" He asked, watching to read her reaction.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She tried to pass off but under further scrutiny she caved. "Well, still a little freaked, but, you know, who wouldn't be?" He nodded sensing that she didn't want to discuss it further than that, but then he thought of a potential distraction for her.

"I passed Forge und Piotr in Cerebro - they looked like they could use your help." That did it. She brightened up immediately with the thought of phasing or ripping apart some unsuspecting piece of hardware. She smiled before phasing straight through the floor - letting gravity take her to her destination.

Kurt smiled after her and reached out to turn the handle to Rogue's room. He twisted and pushed the door open, the faint scent of cosmetics and perfume wafting to him. He walked into her room and circled around the various pieces of furniture, his hand grazing the polished wood and various objects that they met on the surface.

His hands traced the surface of something leather. He looked down and saw his hand resting on the cover of a leather bound book - possibly a diary. It wasn't what he was looking for but he picked it up regardless. He raised his other hand to open the cover to find out what it was, but froze when he spotted what he was looking for just beyond where the book had been on the dresser. He replaced the book and reached out for the pair of black leather items.

Bamf!

oOo

Bamf!

Kurt reappeared just outside the infirmary. He looked in through the window on the door and pushed it open to return to Rogue. He sat down on her right side and placed the white gauze and tape ready on the mattress. Lastly, he placed the pair of black leather gloves on the chair behind him for when he was finished. He picked up her bare right hand to begin wrapping the three open wounds as neatly as he had with the others.

oOo

He continued down the corridor, his steps strong and heavy, his steady breathing through his nose did very little to contain his anger. He reached the end of the stretch he was on, coming face to face with a large metallic door. He placed his palm against the lock next to it, the lights scanning his biometrics to decide who he was and his level of security access.

A moment passed before the whole system lit up, silently granting access. The heavy doors made a series of clicks and whirrs before splitting in the centre and sliding apart. He stepped in quickly and punched the lock behind him, without looking, to get the doors to slam back shut again with a definitive crunch of metal on metal.

The room he had entered had mostly plunged him into darkness, apart from a single beam of light from the outside hallway vent illuminating one side of his lower half. The beam carried across the room to light up a person sitting with his back against the wall. All that separated the two men were a single set of thick metal bars.

The blond man on the floor looked up and squinted at his visitor.

"Who are you? What do you want?!" The stocky blond man demanded of the intimidating figure half enshrouded in darkness in front of him.

A few moments were taken where the only sound to be heard was the sound of the blond man's heart beating faster and faster as the other man stepped forward and unlocked the door within the bars. He pushed the bars back with extraordinary strength and anger - causing the man to panic further seeing his last line of defence from this animal disappear before him.

He stepped closer and reached down to grab the labels of the blond man's suit in one hand, picking him up of the ground with ease and throwing him with force against the wall behind him.

"You and me are gonna have a little talk, bub." He growled out to the terrified prisoner.

Snikt!

**En****d of Chapter 31**

A.N. Ooooh! If the whole story ended here, how frustrating would that be?!

Thanks for the birthday wishes, guys! (Thank you Janieshi for the two reviews! That was very funny!) I liked the idea of an astral-abstract chappie to fill in some blanks wrt to Jean's downfall and the rest so I'm glad people liked my approach to it! Thank you xXWingedWerefoxXx and IronSavior and rogue 21 and ALLREMS and Dani and MissyJane and XoreandoX and Dholefire for the reviews, I do like the small details - most of you may have gathered by now that they nearly always come back to visit! And thank YOU, for reading!!!

Just want to say Happy belated Thanksgiving to those across the Atlantic this week and to those on this side of the Atlantic, especially in Ireland and the UK: I hope the bad weather for the last week and a half hasn't affected anyone too badly - I've never seen flooding this bad firsthand before, hope it improves. Hope everywhere else in the world is doing well too!


	32. Chapter 32

**A.N. ****Hey, thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! Here's some more! R&R ~ Ríoghnach**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 32**

The sun dipped low in the sky, gracefully descending as everyone thought it should for so late in the day. It dipped and teased the horizon with only empty promises. It came so close but would not set; it defied everyone's expectations by moving slowly away just at the last possible second, the change of direction the only marker of the new day.

On this day, the beauty alone was gaining the attention of the animal. The world was made of every magnificent colour that nature could imagine, all reflected off the surface of fresh but ancient snow that had been remodelled by violent whipping winds that moved the earth and parted oceans; redistributing the ice and snows that covered and healed every imperfection or wound inflicted on its surface, erasing it's memory from even itself. On the surface, all was well, but anyone could dig deeper into the driven white snow to find the scarring red stains of history preserved in this frozen land.

The current scene created all the illusions of gentleness and warmth, but in reality - this was one of the hardest places on Earth to live. But that didn't stop people from claiming it as their own, fighting both for it and against it at the same time.

The animal starred at the horizon, taking in the scene and sniffing the air. The wind started to pick up once more, ruffling the fur around his shoulders, causing the creature to prompt itself into making a decision; but where do you go when every which way is south?

The wind shifted direction suddenly, carrying a stealthy scent with it, which in turn put the creature on high alert. Before he could look, he heard a low growl behind him.

He turned slowly, the snow crunching under his enormous weight beneath the thick skin on his paw. He looked back and came face to face with the beast behind him. Their breath froze in the air as they stood there staring at each other, contemplating each other. One set of dark brown eyes stared out from the background and met the ice blue eyes of the savage human withcarelessly cleaned fur from a slaughtered animal, by his hand, draped around his huge, muscular body. Both had strength, both had sharp talon-like claws, both had a hunger - but neither were a meal for the other. The polar bear stared at the new comer for a moment longer - conveying this message to him before turning and walking away.

Sabretooth watched the bear leave and sniffed the air for anything other than its scent that could have potential. He caught something - it was faint, but out here it was everything and he would follow. The hunt just got interesting...

oOo

ZzZzzZzzzaaahppp!!!!

"Whoa!" Forge shouted as the sparks shot out in every direction from beneath him, and for once - it wasn't caused by him. "Easy! It's not a toy!!" He shouted at the mad woman climbing the underside of the Cerebro catwalk, high above the round room's floor. Colossus stared down at her looking over the edge of the platform.

"She is quite acrobatic." He admired her work as Forge ran his fingers through his hair in stress, pacing the walkway.

"And way too enthusiastic!" He agreed with Piotr, not really listening as they both heard Kitty's effort, followed by the sound of a mistake.

ZzZzzaap!!!

"Oops, totally my bad!" Kitty shouted up, her head appearing through the centre of the runway. She was beaming from ear to ear, delighted to be helping. Her smile was infectious; Colossus couldn't help but forget his typically stoic nature as he reciprocated the smile to the girl. Forge was somehow immune.

"She tore out the wireless emitter from the transducer!" Forge talked to himself; Piotr heard but didn't know what he was talking about so ignored the comment.

"Hey, yeah, I think that's what this is!" Kitty's head dipped below and popped up through the floor once more along with her hand. "Catch!" She threw the small piece of technology up to Forge, which he caught with minimal fumbling. He examined it and nodded.

"Yip... It's the emitter." He sighed. He looked down at the shiny new-age piece of technology that designed after his short stint in MIT. Luckily, there was another. He quickly called down to Kitty when she disappeared beneath the walkway again. "If you see a second one that looks just like it - please just leave it alone!" He pleaded with the girl.

"Am... What happens if I, like, don't leave it alone?" Kitty asked quietly and ominously. Forge's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"What?!" He shouted down, dropping the emitter immediately to fall to his knees and grab the edge of the platform, leaning far over to look and see the damage this girl had caused. But all was well; and instead he found her giggling.

"Gotcha!" She told him between laughs. He sighed a frustrated sigh, wishing he could do this work himself; whereas Piotr was quietly entertained by the girl that was so full of life.

"Have you passed all the wires through yet?!" Forge asked, getting impatient. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Yip! Where do you want them connected?" She asked him like it was her profession. He leaned over further.

"See the six large, looped cables over there, matching the six coloured cables you just brought through? You know, the ones over there grouped together by the cable tie?" He pointed in their general direction. "Cut each one of those and connect the new cables to the ends that will hang on your right, and match up the colours. The other ends of the cut wires will be fine; they won't be live and we'll need to reconnect them all up again later." He instructed Kitty. She nodded in comprehension, so he leaned back to the safe side of the platform when he spotted six heavy duty connectors next to him on the walkway. "Am Kitty? Do you have connectors for the-"

"Done!" She floated up through the platform, dusting down her hands and clothes. Forge's eyes darted up at her from his seated position at the edge of the platform. Next, he was leaning over the edge of the platform as far as her could go without falling in order to exam her speedy handiwork. The six thick wires were phased in to neatly mesh with the six wires that were tied off in the bundle, leaving six other snipped, free ends to be attended to later. He was actually impressed.

Forge stood up in front of her, he was about a head taller than her and almost stuck for words.

"Nice work." He congratulated her on a job well done. Kitty nodded.

"Thanks! Though I'm, like, totally parched now. I'm gonna get a drink from the kitchen." She turned to exit but came face to chest with a tall and built Russian, offering her his arm.

"Allow me to accompany you, Katya." Kitty suppressed a girlish giggle as she slipped her arm in to his.

"Sure!" She squeaked, liking her new pet name. Not forgetting her manners, she turned to Forge who was picking up the Cerebro headgear and disconnecting it from the mainframe. "Hey Forge, are you coming?"

"Nah, I gotta bring this to the Prof in the infirmary first." He told them truthfully, also not wanting to be a third wheel; but he paused remembering his talk with the Beast about trying to fit in and making more of an effort to connect with those his 'own age'. Plus, he didn't want to blow her off when she had just been a big help to him. "But it shouldn't take too long. I'll see you guys up there in a minute."

"Okay, see you later!" Kitty called back to him before walking away with Colossus, leaving Forge alone to complete his task for the Professor. He fired up the power again before leaving Cerebro and beginning his short trek to the infirmary. He walked through the silent metal corridors, appreciating all the wiring and infrastructure behind every aesthetically-pleasing panel. He couldn't see through walls, but he knew what he would find if he opened any of those panels. Similarly, the pipe work for most of the building followed each corridor overhead, but they too were now hidden since the reconstruction of the mansion was completed. Pity. He would have preferred them to be exposed.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw a shadow waiting in the hallway before him, just outside his destination. The shadow looked up at the approaching sound of Forge's footsteps, red eyes glowing back at him from the dark.

"De Professeur is ready fo' ya." Gambit greeted him.

oOo

The air was cool and soothing against his skin. He had been going for so long now that all of the muscles in his back and across his chest ached from the marathon; he had never flown for this long before.

He began to think that the make-believe ambulance would run out of land soon enough as they had been driving consistently west-south-west for over half a day and he could now just make out the coastline or at least a large body of water.

They left the factory at dawn. He was forced to keep a low profile via a safe and high distance away from the vehicle as it pulled out from the factory entrance. The wooded grounds around the steel factory itself kept him fairly well-hidden, but it was in the middle of an industrial zone and a built up area near Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin.

At first, Angel didn't think they were going that far as he thought he saw the helipad of a medical centre coming up ahead of them, but the ambulance veered off in the opposite direction to it as they drew nearer and turned in the direction of Milwaukee. It wasn't long before they crossed the state line into Ohio, passing Chicago and Cleveland. His sense of geography was extraordinarily good for flying at such heights, but when he lost sight of Lake Erie he had difficulty keeping track of where they were and where they were headed.

For hours, all he could focus on was not losing sight of the ambulance as it neared cities. He was becoming less and less concerned for who saw him as long as the people he was tracking didn't spot him. He took any and every opportunity he could for rest. They pulled in occasionally for food or fuel or sometimes to swap over and share the driving. Warren tried to establish his location each time by looking out for signs and for any distinctive landmarks, but he never had enough information by the time that the ambulance set off again. These guys were in a rush to make a deadline.

Now, as dusk fell once more, they encroached on yet another city. This time, Warren was able to identify some very distinguishable landmarks, aided by the brackish waters some thirty to forty miles off the distance directly west. Knowing what city he was now in, he could identify the waterway as that of the peninsula of Maryland, and Delaware beyond it. The ambulance followed along the increasingly widening river dividing the huge 'district' from the neighbouring state. As they crossed the state lines to enter the city, Warren began to realise just how huge this little project of his father's was...

oOo

He reached in behind the bed and shelves to the power outlets concealed behind them. He quickly transformed his arm to the correct implement required to remove the socket covers. He exposed the bank of boxes with six new, uniquely powered wires fed into them. Forge placed a device that he created that morning in front of them and quickly wired it up. Extending from that device were hundreds tiny wires threading into the complex make-up of the Cerebro head gear. As he was connecting the complicated device, Xavier was programming the headset and the Beast was prepping his patients.

Gambit leaned back against the wall next to the double doors, unconcerned for the technology; he was just there in case something goes wrong, and he already had a pretty bad feeling. Scott was next to Jean, holding her hand and whispering words of hope and encouragement to her. Alex was near-by, keeping a safe distance from Jean; as much as his brother loved her, he couldn't see her as 'just Jean' anymore. Scott hadn't picked up on it yet, but Alex was scared of her. He loitered around the hospital beds of Duncan and Laura as he waiting to see what would happen. Kurt was anxiously waiting by Rogue's side, watching the wiring.

"Why are we not using the portable Cerebro?" Forge didn't even look up at Kurt's question. He kept going because he was nearly finished.

"Most of the wireless technology was fried with the power surge relay from Jean yesterday." He quickly explained, not breaking his concentration. "To use Cerebro now we would have to go old-school." Kurt thought that it was ironic that the boy from the seventies and eighties was using the phrase 'old-school', but shrugged it off.

"So, what are we hopin' will happen here?" Remy asked from the far side of the room. Xavier clicked down a small cover on the top of the headset as Forge finished his work.

"I'm going to try to break the connections that were formed here." Xavier told his audience; but they required a further explanation. "Most of us saw Rogue's severe reaction to Logan's powers and how the other three in this room reacted to it? There was a significant psychic backlash associated with that reaction. I'm going to try and see what those connections are and maybe attempt to separate the links that have been formed." An awkward silence filled the room as Xavier got ready.

"Is that safe?" Gambit asked, seemingly the only one new enough to the team to ask questions. The Beast and the Professor shared a look before he responded.

"No, but we do what we have to." Xavier told everyone before placing the Cerebro unit over his head.

oOo

In the kitchen, anxiously awaiting the results from below were Jamie, Jamie, Jamie and Jamie, distracting himselves as much as possible by serving drinks to everyone, while trying to make a meal big enough to feed an army. Pacing the kitchen, trying to stay cool but causing the others to be a little nervous as the clouds darkened and grew thundery outside, was Ororo Munroe. Sitting at the table were Ray, Amara, Roberto, Bobby, Tabitha and Sam. They tried to distract themselves by discussing things outside of this X-life, but everything led back to the events of the last twenty-four hours, followed by an uncomfortable silence until a new topic was suggested.

Just as they were on a roll, discussing what Jamie was preparing for them, the doors opened. Everyone froze to see who it was and what news they brought.

The door swung revealing Colossus, who held the door open for Kitty before he entered the room himself. People stared at them as they entered with their breath held. Kitty picked up on it very quickly.

"What? You guys are, like, totally freaking me out!" She asked everyone at the table and looked at Ororo too.

"Did you come from the infirmary, Kitty?" Storm asked her with false calmness.

"Oh. No. We were in Cerebro, but Forge just went there with the stuff the Professor needs - so I think they're only, like, just getting started?" Kitty answered efficiently and everyone exhaled partially. Kitty headed to the fridge to quench her thirst. A Jamie quickly came to her assistance and ushered her to sit.

"Whatdya need, Kitty?" Jamie asked her as he pulled out a chair for her, completely ignoring Piotr, mostly accidently. Mostly.

"Am, just a water. And one for Piotr, too! Thanks, Jamie!" She smiled sweetly at him as he noticed Piotr. Jamie smiled nervously at the man who was easily twice, if not three times, his size. Well, three times the size of one Jamie.

"No problem!" He squeaked before quickly rejoining the other copies of himself. Kitty turned to the others at the table as Piotr took the seat next to her.

"So, what's Jamie doing?" She asked nervously, seeing him at the helm of the stove. The others smiled at her for bringing up their favourite topic of conversation.

oOo

The room held its breath as the Professor hovered a palm over Rogue's forehead, closing his eyes as his mind was aided by Cerebro to communicate with the girl. He opened his eyes after only a short session - having gained the information he required. Quietly, he moved to Jean and carried out the same actions to diagnose the problem. He opened his eyes and looked up at everyone.

"I need you to move Laura next to Rogue, and move Duncan next to Jean." Scott grew confused but didn't question the Professor, instead he seethed silently and let Forge, Kurt, Beast and Gambit swap Duncan and Rogue's places in the order of things. He didn't like the idea of moving Duncan closer to Jean. After all, if what Jean did to him was initially intentional, before something happened to cause her to lose control, Duncan would have done something to deserve it. Jean would never lash out for no reason. He didn't feel inclined to help move Rogue either, though. He didn't want to say it out loud, but the three puncture marks on Jean's side by Rogue's hand seemed, to him, like an extremely bad way of handling the situation. And from the Professor's description of the events two seconds before he started all of this, it's seems to him that Rogue was the one out of control. Not Jean.

The patients were switched and the Professor focussed on the two now closest to him; Jean and Duncan. He placed a palm on each forehead and closed his eyes in deep concentration. Everyone watched silently.

Excruciatingly long minutes ticked by before anyone could see results. Scott was the first to start noticing Jean's heart rate increasing on the monitor behind her. Soon, everyone was watching the device with bated breath, except Scott, who now watched Jean.

Suddenly Jean lurched, as if possessed, as Duncan gasped and his body went into shock.

"Jean!" Scott rushed forward but was pulled back easily by Hank McCoy.

"No. We can't interrupt." He told Scott quickly.

"It's hurting her!" He shouted at the Beast holding him back.

"No, it's working..." Forge told them. They stopped the struggle to look at all the other monitors. Jean's brain activity had increased and her vitals returned to normal, well, normal for a comatose state. Duncan's brain activity was virtually non-existent before they started this experiment - and now it began to resemble something close to normal R.E.M.

The Professor was beginning to show signs of distress himself; he needed to stop. He released his powers on the two. Both gasped but Jean stilled and returned to her previous state; however, Duncan did not relax, instead his vitals were antagonised and he grew restless. His eyes flickered open and closed and his breathing became laboured. Xavier's powers had been taxed to separate the two but he was afraid that Duncan's reaction could go sour, now knowing the extent of the damage that Jean had inflicted on him.

The Beast and Gambit rushed forward quickly as Duncan began into a seizure. Gambit tried to hold him still and the Beast struggled to decide what treatment was necessary. That decision was made for him as Xavier reached forward to hold Duncan's head still and to focus his powers on quickly stabilising Duncan and repairing the blunt damage done by Jean.

His body started to relax as Xavier bore the worst of it on his own self instead - but despite the pain, he refused to stop. It was his fault that any of this happened in the first place.

Duncan relaxed completely into an exhausted sleep. The Beast was watching Xavier for ill effects and noticed that the man had aged twenty years in twenty minutes. He was drained and exhausted but he was done. With great effort, he pressed the necessary commands on his chair to move away from Jean and Duncan. Everyone thought he was done, but he changed direction to help Rogue and Laura...

**En****d of Chapter 32**

_A.N. What's Sabretooth up to? And where was Angel? Tough treatment of Scott towards Rogue, eh? And what's Logan doing? And exactly how bad is Jamie's cooking?! All these and more will be answered (or at least partially answered... c",)) soon (ish)!_

_XoreandoX - Thank you! Hope everyone likes the future updates! Roguey21 - Thank you and don't worry - I won't be stopping any time soon if I can help it! IronSaviour - Unreal praise there, thank you! Hope you keep feeling inspired! Janieshi - Curious about the diary, eh? Hee hee - I am very mean to dangle such plot bits in front of people cause I could mention it again in the next chapter or leave it for weeks! Don't worry, we'll see it again! Thank you for such high praise too! Courtney Summers - Thank you! You've been leaving reviews since way back when this all kicked off and were one of the lovely people encouraging me to write more of the story after chapter one! That was a good idea - I'm having so much fun with this! xXWingedWerefoxXx - thanks for mentioning the structure of the chapter with Kurt - (insert what I'm thinking here) was exactly what I was going for! Dani - Thank you and it's good to see that people are wondering about the diary, it was just too tempting to read - wasn't it! Orangebean - I'll try to not get too caught up in the healing time for people without rushing the story, it's a tough balance. Thank you!_


	33. Chapter 33

**A.N. ****Hey, thanks for yer lovely reviews! They were so nice that ye deserved another chapter! R&R ~ Ríoghnach**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 3****3**

_Sabretooth watched the bear leave and sniffed the air for anything other than it__s scent that could have potential. He caught something - it was faint, but out here it was everything and he would follow. The hunt just got interesting..._

The land was flat for most of what the eye could see, but at the horizon, vague shapes were forming. Ice formations or a trick of the eye, either way it was not fooling his highly attuned sense of smell, which was his guiding compass. He marched steadily through the vast expanse of ice and snow that varied in depth randomly across his journey. The shifting winds did nothing to make his task any easier - but if it had been an easy job, clearly he wouldn't have been chosen to do it.

Eventually, the monotony of the plain started changing as he entered large boulder fields of ice as hard as diamonds in interesting, random formations. He caught the multiple scents of his proof of life, and in the stillness of this solitude he was able to hear them barking. He entered into the deep mountains and valleys of ice to follow the sound and scents of the pack of animals...

oOo

_Duncan relaxed completely into an exhausted sleep. The Beast was watching Xavier for ill effects and noticed that the man had aged twenty years in twenty minutes. He was drained and exhausted but he was done. With great effort, he pressed the necessary commands on his chair to move away from Jean and Duncan. Everyone thought he was done, but he changed direction __to help Rogue and Laura..._

"Whoa! Vait a minute, Professor! Are you sure you are ready to do this now?!" Kurt asked urgently as Scott returned to Jean's side, disappointed at the lack of change in her condition. The Beast was in agreement with Kurt.

"Charles, if the last separation was anything to go by, you should consider resting before attempting to do the same with Rogue and Laura." The Beast implored reason but had a feeling that it would fall on deaf ears.

"This will not be the same." He placed himself centrally between the two gurneys, ready to communicate with the two girls. "Jean had inflicted a considerable amount of damage on Mr. Matthews and was still unwilling to release him, even with my efforts. Rogue had no intention of harming Laura, she only wished to keep her out of the fight in Rochester; however, with all that has been going on in Rogue's mind since then, she is unable to release her without assistance, which I can provide." Xavier closed his eyes to concentrate as he placed his fingers to his temples, not leaving time to debate the issue any further.

The stress was minimal on the man and on both of his patients, but it didn't take half as long for the effects to be seen as with Jean and Duncan. Rogue's vitals improved but she, like Jean, remained unconscious. Laura was starting to wake up.

An afterthought, but one that occurred to everyone in the room at that moment; what kind of humour would she be in when she woke up and exactly how many of the restraints that Sam Gunthrie had the good sense to put on her earlier would suffice?

She began to move drowsily, but the moment her body felt the constriction of the tough straps she simply reacted naturally. She cleared her thoughts and woke up fully to fight against them. Even before she opened her eyes, she was thrashing against the restraints violently, moving and rattling her bed in the process. Charles was the nearest to her and placed his left hand to his temple, but whatever it was that he was trying to do to help the situation - it wasn't working. Laura grew wilder and more animalistic. Xavier dropped his hand; the Beast thought that he had given up.

oOo

_He stepped closer and reached down to grab the labels of the blond man's suit in one hand, picking him up of the ground with ease and throwing him with force against the wall behind him. _

"_You and me are gonna have a little talk, bub." He growled out to the terrified prisoner._

_Snikt!_

"Gaagh!" The man screamed as the shiny and sharp metal claws popped out mere inches from his face. The other man, who was holding him up against the wall, pulled him from the rough plaster covering the bricked structure only to slam him back into it with more force than the last time causing cracks to form in the masonry.

"Try that again, bub, didn't quite catch that." Logan growled at the man. This guy was anything but cool in this situation.

"W-what do you w-want to know?!" He stammered to the animal, feeling very much inspired to talk and be helpful.

"Let's start with your name." Logan growled out slowly in mock patience. The man looked at Logan and forgot himself and situation for long enough to sound a little indignant.

"My name?! _You_ kidnapped _me_!" He shouted back to the beast before him in a unique combination of terror and haughtiness. Logan shook his head slowly.

"Wasn't me, Bub; but I'm mad as hell and you're the only prisoner to torture." He was used to dealing with tough guys everyday in business, but this mad man wasn't bluffing. He gulped, but his throat ran completely dry.

"Saunders, B-Brad S-Saunders..." He stuttered, his voice cracking under the pressure. A glimmer of satisfaction crossed the Wolverine's expression before something distracted him, almost like someone else was in the room talking to him. But then, just like that, his attention was back on him.

"It's your lucky day, Bub." He let go, giving the man a chance to scamper away from the animal. The beast turned and left him alone in this hell hole. The bars and door were locked once more. Saunders began to wonder if it was to keep him from escaping or to stop any other wild animals getting in; then again, that man didn't seem to be all that concerned for his well being and maybe these people didn't need doors...

oOo

"Laura, it's okay! You're at the Institute!" The Beast's voice bellowed out across the room over to her hoping she would remember him.

He left Duncan's side to quickly rush over and try to calm Laura down. Kurt braced himself for the onslaught of yet another X-23 showdown and moved himself in the way of Laura and Rogue; Gambit quietly slipped a few cards into his hand. Scott stood to move in front of Jean. Forge grabbed the Professor's chair and moved him away from the hazard.

She could smell the familiar room and the stench of disinfectants. She couldn't believe that she was here again, dragged back without giving her consent and then strapped down and muzzled like a stray dog. If that's how they thought of her, an untamed and out-control animal, then that's what she would be.

Laura started to growl.

"Grr-let me go!!!" She screamed furiously at them, getting the scent of every person in the room. Who was hurt, who was afraid and who could be a threat to her.

Snikt! Snikt! Snikt! Snikt!

Everyone jumped back a fraction when Laura suddenly extended six claws from her feet and hands. She quickly flicked her joints to cut through the closest straps to each set of claws and pushed the claws from her knuckles forwards to cut through the straps around her hips and waist. She now had enough leverage to use her own strength to tear through the materials holding her down.

The seams and stitches ripped and popped. Gambit's cards and Havok's hands started to glow violently as she ripped through the last of the seams and broke free.

Laura immediately rounded on Hank, who was closest to her. He was caught between the feral girl and the wall behind him. She growled and lunged for him in blind fury; all claws pointed in his direction.

Bamf!

Kurt grabbed Hank and teleported out of his deadly predicament.

Bamf!

Bamf!

Kurt and the Beast reappeared on the other side of the room. Laura's claws were forced to connect with the wall instead, which was thoroughly unsatisfying. She quickly turned and retracted the claws on her feet.

Un-snikt! Un-snikt!

She sliced through the bed separating her from Havok and Gambit. Gambit threw a charged card straight at her - she swung her right arm vertically downwards and sliced it in half with one of her claws, letting the two pieces explode on either side of her while she kept going for Gambit and Havok; the last line of defence before Rogue.

Havok was silently panicking but he knew he needed to do something fast. He aimed his hands to fire at Laura but didn't fire straight away and with that split second hesitation, he gave Laura enough time to kick up a tray of surgical tools next to her as he fired. She let the instruments fall to the ground with a melodic clattering and held up the stainless steel tray to defend herself from the blast and even managed to angle the tray causing Alex's blast to ricochet and strike Gambit square in the chest - sending the Cajun flying across the room into Hank McCoy and Kurt Wagner, taking them both out. She swiftly kicked Alex hard in the torso and back into Scott Summers, defeating two brothers with one stone.

Now Rogue was lying in a bed in front of her. The person responsible for knocking her out and keeping her unconscious for the last twenty-four hours, forcing her into a lifetime of dreams where she was trapped, reliving every bad memory she had ever accumulated in her short and tortured life. Caught up in her own wild and blinding rage, her heavy breathing and heart pounding was all she could hear; she didn't even hesitate when she propelled her claws forward and down to deliver the final and deadly blow to Rogue's chest.

Her claws were mere millimetres from connecting with Rogue's torso. Suddenly, something barely visible and strong grew outwards from Rogue. A protective, glowing shield sprung up around her and sent Laura flying back into the wall behind. She hit the wall with sufficient force to make her reconsider getting up again. The shield blasted out all the windows and left everyone on the other side of the room silent but otherwise unharmed. Even Laura was left dumbfounded and entranced by the fiery shield...

oOo

_Just a few moments earlier..._

"_Logan, Laura__ is awake. Come as fast as you can."_ The Professor's voice came through to Logan alone. Wolverine brought his attention back to his potential victim.

"It's your lucky day, Bub." He told Saunders before dropping the man to the floor and letting him scramble and cower away into the corner. He turned and left him alone in the dark but moderately comfortable cell.

He ensured everything was locked behind him and walked through the long maze of corridors. Logan noticed that he was no longer breathing so heavily through his nostrils. The brief session of venting his anger on their unsuspecting 'guest' served him well to calm down. But now Laura was awake, and once again, he wasn't there.

He quickened his pace and neared the infirmary. He was walking along the windows; the blinds were closed. He was only yards away from the double doors.

Suddenly a blinding light burst through the windows, shattering the glass out into the corridor - covering Logan in smithereens and sandy debris. The light was so bright that it burned his eyes to look at, but the pain that suddenly developed in his head was not from the light, it was a sudden overload of information...

oOo

_Just a few moments earlier, almost at the same time..._

He was left alone to reflect on his fear and thoughts. He started to think about how he ended up in here; that colossal metal man and the boy who glowed in flames grabbing him from one of his employer's sites. He thought further back at the damage these thugs caused them. He wished that he hadn't been disarmed, and the LDX taken away from him - he could have used it to take out one of those bast-

"Gagh!" He suddenly felt a sharp ping behind his ear. He grabbed the sorely pinched site and jumped up to look around the cage. He rubbed the pain away and it faded fast; but the bizarreness of the situation stayed with him. He knew that he was either crazy or not alone, both were possible. He saw no one - but paranoia was over running his senses. They could be invisible...? He shook his head. He started to feel tired and flopped back down on the cot in the corner.

Spears... He was supposed to be thinking about Guy Spears for some reason.

He thought of his employer and all of the underhanded deeds and ruthless acts that he had assisted him with over the years to break in to the sports industry. He thought those days were dark, but they were nothing when compared to the last year of his career.

His thoughts lead him to their discovery in Bayville, New York - finding out that their new sports drink, Powr-8, was poisonous to mutants...

Was that where he was now?

He smiled and shook his head, as if someone had just told him that that was a crazy thought.

Powr-8. Powr-8. He closed his eyes and went back to thinking about Powr-8...

After Spears learned of its effects, he immediately started calculating its potential for profit. He went along willingly; after all, those mutants who ceaselessly attacked their sites on and off for the preceding year almost cost him a job!

But wait, he didn't want to focus on that. He wanted to know, no; he wanted to _think_ about how Powr-8 became LDX...

Why did he want to think about that? All that science, as if he could follow it - all he cared for were the numbers-

No, he wanted to think about LDX; where they make it, where they test it, what they are going to use it for-

"Hey!" His eyes shot open sensing he was being toyed with and manipulated. His eyes adjusted to the dull light around him and this time the room wasn't empty.

Across the cell, two floating green eyes stared back him from the darkness; around the left eye, the tattoo of a fiery triangular bird glowed.

"Gah!!" He screamed sharply and acutely, then scrambled back against the wall; the disembodied eyes seemed as startled as he was.

The pair of eyes came closer and the adrenaline in his veins tried to fight the effects, but he started to feel sleepy again. Whatever it was, it was doing something to him; he started to think about LDX again...

But something happened to distract it; its head snapped in the direction of the door, then back at him. It stared into his soul and a pain suddenly built up in his head. The vision burst into flames and burned his cornea - he shut his eyes closed tightly.

When he peeled his eyes open again, the black and blue shapes faded until he could see that it was just him and his cell...

oOo

All of these events could only be linked to Rogue. As quickly as light and pain happened, they receded and Logan jumped through the non-existent windows to see what had happened. In front of him was Rogue, lying there unconsciously innocent of persecution.

To Logan's right was Laura. She was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, stunned into silence. Her claws were still out, two to each wrist. Logan saw the diced up gurney and smelled the fear from the people on the other side of the room. Laura at least had the decency to look abashed. She looked up at Logan, her eyes darting between him and Rogue. She decided to then look anywhere but at him.

Un-snikt! Un-snikt!

She looked guilty, but clearly, she had now come to her senses.

On his right were Scott and Alex in a heap on the floor, but they were helping each other up in to a standing position. Alex kept staring at Rogue and Scott quickly returned Jean's side. Near them were Gambit, the Beast and Kurt, also taken out messily. Kurt was pushing Gambit off him and making his way over to check on Rogue - but from the looks of things, Rogue seemed to be doing fine on her own.

Hank quickly checked Gambit's chest; his shirt was singed and blasted apart from Alex's misguided shot. The Beast also checked that Gambit was not concussed. When Gambit muttered back how many fingers Hank was holding up to him in French; Hank shrugged and decided that he was proabbaly alright and left him to check on Duncan, who like Jean, was completely oblivious to the world and the events of the last few moments.

At the back of the room was Forge, at a loss for words and before him was Xavier, holding his head like he had just experienced the same thing that Logan had outside in the corridor. Xavier dropped his hand and looked up at him, making eye contact that gave Logan a fair idea.

"Saunders?" Logan asked him. Xavier nodded gravely, confirming Logan's thoughts. Logan sighed and looked back to Rogue. "Apparently, we needed a nudge in the right direction." He said to Rogue, as if she could hear him. He looked at Cyclops and the Beast, but made a decision that wouldn't involve them.

He turned to Laura and offered his hand to the girl to pull her up off the floor.

"Elf!" He barked to Kurt while still looking at Laura. "Tell Storm to prep the jet." Kurt was reluctant to leave Rogue, especially with Laura there, who, less than two minutes ago, would have liked nothing better than to see Rogue in the past tense. However, Wolverine was there too.

"Elf! Now!" He ordered him. Kurt cast an unsure and untrusting look to Laura once more, hoping the Wolverine would pick it up.

Reluctantly; Bamf!

Kurt vanished as Laura stood up before Logan, very unsure of herself. She wore a puzzled expression, almost on gaurd for a lashing form him. Instead, he nodded to her.

"We've got work to do."

**En****d of Chapter 33**

_A.N. New mission, eh? Who was that fiery-tattooed-disembodied-eyes-not-masked-person in the cell with Saunders? What happened there?! Sabretooth; still no idea what he's looking for? And worst of all, we still don't know how bad Jamie's cooking is?! Need answers? Hee, hee! Review! c",)_


	34. Chapter 34

**A.N. ****Hey, thanks for yer lovely reviews! It's cold and frosty, but X-mas is only a few days away so it's all good! Nollaig Shona Dhuit! R&R ~ Ríoghnach**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 3****4**

"Am, so, what is it?" She asked, trying to portray nothing but a complimentary air as she stared at the massive concoction presented before her.

The red sauce dripped over the edge of the massive bowl onto the centre of the kitchen table, having been laden heavily on to the horribly over-cooked, uhm, something?

"It was supposed to be a Bolognese, but then I saw that we were out of a few things so I improvised!" Jamie smiled triumphantly, spooning out a plateful of the 'spaghetti' for Kitty. Kitty's eyes darted to the stove to see what so-called improvisations lay around it. Chilli sauce... coconut milk... Lemon rind... Cocoa powder?!

"Kitty, I want you to have the first bite!" A Jamie announced, still beaming.

One Jamie handed her the enormous plate of 'food', another handed her a fork. Piotr cheekily nudged her glass of water towards her, sensing that she would be in need of it. She glared at Piotr like a traitor. Like, even Ororo wasn't stepping in to stop this - she just kept pacing. Roberto quickly got up, using 'checking up on Rahne' as his excuse to excuse himself from the table. The other boys just kept grinning at her, but she could tell Amara and Tabitha were more focussed on the not-too-distant future; they were totally trying to think of excuses for their predictably soon to occur disappearances, but not before they see Kitty's reaction.

Kitty eyed the pasta warily and saw little black flecks throughout. She made a face at it but quickly pulled it back, not wanting to offend any Jamie.

"I may have burnt it a bit, but I think I caught it just in time." Jamie told her a little less confidently, but eagerly awaited her review. She hesitantly picked up the fork to have a stab at the plate of food in front of her, her mind searching and reaching for any and every excuse to put the fork down but came up with zilch.

Bamf! Squelch!!

Kurt appeared in the middle of the table, one foot on wood, the other stuck in the middle of a big hot steaming bowl of... something... He lifted his foot out of the hot stuff and examined it in shock.

"Mann! Vhot is that!" He exclaimed incredulously at the unknown substance attacking his foot.

"That's what we were all wondering..." Tabitha told the other guys discretely.

"My Bolognese!" Jamie cried out at Kurt, reaching out to snap the bowl away from the table out under his foot.

"Yeah," Bobby said dryly to Sam, "Now it's ruined..." His voice was laced with sarcasm.

Kurt tried shaking his foot clean, but flicked sauce in every direction as his body and tail moved to balance his antics. As the others were grossed out and diving for cover, his tail flicked dangerously close to Kitty. Not one to miss a golden opportunity, she swiftly slid her plate off the wooden plain and let it shatter and splash on the hard tile floor.

"Kurt!" Kitty shouted at the fuzzy dude, pretending to be annoyed. Kurt spun to face her.

"Vhot?!" He asked her, he was confused but Kitty rarely needed a reason to yell at him, so he was no more confused than normal.

"Nevermind!" Kitty finished her fake rant quickly. Kurt almost spoke up in his own defence when Ororo reminded him why he was there in the first place.

"Kurt, has anything happened below?" Ororo enquired as Kurt cleaned off his foot.

"Ja, lots. Wolverine sent me to get you to start the jet." Kurt informed her as the others got the meaning of his words and livened up.

"Mission?!" The Jamie picking up the pieces of the shattered plate exclaimed. "When do we leave?!" The Jamie behind Ororo, removing the bowl of... whatever... to the kitchen sink asked eagerly. Ignoring the multiple Jamies, Storm spoke to Kurt directly.

"Did he tell you anything else?" She asked Kurt annoyed at the lack of information from Logan. He shook his head.

"Nine, but it sounded urgent. I can fill you in on vhat you missed while we start up the X-jet." He reached out his hand for her to take so he could teleport them to the jet - but she didn't take it.

"I'll take the stairs." She told him and turned on her heel to the door opting out of any further information, which struck Kurt as bizarre. Kurt hopped off the table and went to follow Ororo. But a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"So, where are we going?!" Jamie asked him excitedly. Kurt shook his head and Bobby took over.

"Didn't you hear him? This is a Wolverine mission. Translation; we're not invited." Bobby explained to Jamie, patting him in consolation on the back, letting Kurt slip out after Ororo.

"Oh..." Jamie's shoulders slumped, but Kitty didn't want him to feel too bad for too long so she thought she'd try to cheer him up. She got up and walked over to the cooker.

"Sorry Jamie, but you should sit down. I'll make us something else-"

"No!" Several people yelled at once, stunning Kitty into silence. Like, was her cooking totally icksome or something?

oOo

"_Saunders?" Logan asked him. Xavier nodded gravely, confirming Logan's thoughts. Logan sighed and looked back to Rogue. "Apparently, we needed a nudge in the right direction." He said to Rogue, as if she could hear him. _

He stood by her, looking at her from time to time as he talked to the other man on the opposite side her hospital bed. The curtain was drawn around the three, so two of them could talk.

"Control, Chuck. She's been learnin' control." He answered Xavier's question, explaining what they had been up to for the past while. "Started to understand more about her powers, and mine, in Alberta."

Charles eyebrows flicked as he comprehended how much had been hidden from him since they had returned, but he wasn't one to judge on trust himself, so he let he face fall back to passive as Logan continued.

"She's been learnin' how to control the powers of the people stuck in her head - mine, yours, the elf's, red's..." Logan sighed as Xavier got the idea that it was a long list. "She's been training hard..." It explained a lot to him. This was why Rogue was impossible to read when she returned; she had been able to use psychic shields at her will from him and from Jean, and even from Mystique - probably. It explained how she seemed to just know things that he himself was only figuring out. It explained how she stood a chance against Jean.

"You shared a psychic link with her when you touched her skin." Logan's eye's snapped from Rogue to Xavier. Xavier nodded knowingly tapping the side of his head. "I know; I sensed it. What did she show you?" Logan sighed.

"Everything that happened in Rochester; she saw what Jean was doing and she used the powers she could control to stop her." Logan told him simply before adding how it ended. "She figured out how to use Red's powers faster in the end - that's what she used to bring her down."

"Yes," Xavier nodded, "I sensed that the battle was ongoing, on the psychic plain, when she they were brought here - that's why I didn't want you to touch her skin earlier. I was afraid it would upset a balance that she had established and give Jean the opportunity to regain her strength. And given Jean's reaction at the time, it almost did."

"But she got the control back; even halted my healing factor to do it." Logan continued the story.

"Her wounds?" Logan nodded as Xavier caught his observation. "What else did you pick up from her link?" Logan shrugged but remained tough spoken.

"Mostly fractured memories; some of hers, some of the people she absorbed..." Logan left the end of his sentence hang mid-air, looking at him, indicating that Xavier was included in that snippet. Clearly Logan had seen something in Rogue/Xavier's memories to cause anger and even disappointment in the Professor. But Xavier knew that that was a conversation he needed to have with Jean and Rogue; not Logan.

However, at least Xavier now knew of how Logan learned of Jean's powers damaging Cerebro. Rogue was there. And given that he touched her skin accidentally that day, it cemented the chance that most of the fractured memories were his.

The silence carried until Logan could see that Xavier wasn't going to say any more. He sighed.

"Where you able to do anything to help her?" Logan asked in a low tone.

"I was able to psychically separate Jean from Duncan and Rogue from Laura." Xavier told the Wolverine, while looking a little defeated. "However, given how Jean and Rogue are intertwined; it will take more time." Logan was confused; Xavier felt the need to elaborate. "Rogue is using a great power that did not belong to her. She is using it very well, mind, but it is taking all that she has to keep Jean from taking a hold of her own power."

"And we don't want that to happen?" Logan asked to make sure they were both on the same page here.

"No. Not yet. Jean's mental state, I'm afraid to say, cannot handle the power." Xavier looked up at the man, again wondering how much Rogue had shown him. Logan had his poker face on again, letting Xavier tell him only how much he wanted to tell him; and for this, Charles was grateful. Xavier very much wanted to change the topic.

"Just now, Logan, you were shown what I was shown?" Xavier needed confirmation from Wolverine to establish just how serious this could be. Tactically, Xavier wasn't willing to risk any more bad decisions.

"Saunders? Yeah. Rogue's been using her new powers on our new 'guest'. Found some pretty damning evidence too." Xavier nodded. Separating Laura and Duncan from the mix took enough strain off Rogue so that she could bring their attention to Saunders. Through her not-so-subtle barrage of images, they had both seen glimpses of things that were already in motion from Saunders' mind. They needed to act fast.

"And you want to take Laura with you?" Xavier asked, slightly questioning the other man's sanity.

"If this LDX production is even half as big as Saunders thinks it is - then we've got a big problem on our hands. We need to put an end to it, and Laura and me are the only ones who can handle it if things go bad." He concluded, Xavier reluctantly agreeing that their healing factors gave them an advantage above anyone else on the team.

Laura was listening from just outside the curtain where Logan ordered her to wait until the jet was ready. Nearby in the corner behind her, Gambit leaned casually flicking cards from one hand to the other - waiting for her to make a move that could be considered threatening. She rolled her eyes; like he could really stop her...

oOo

_She watched t__hem leave and run away from her. Or, rather foolishly, she watched them leave instead of fleeing herself. She turned back to the direction she was supposed to be going; well, at least the direction she thought she should have been going..._

_She ran at top speed but a minute in, she realised she was __going the wrong way. She couldn't see the jet anywhere. She tried to sniff it out but that wasn't good enough. She was becoming so frazzled she couldn't concentrate of any scent. She morphed to her canine form, but still she couldn't catch even a wee trace. Normally, when calm and in control of herself, she could handle a situation like this - but she had started to freak herself out and began darting around in random sprints and circles like a wild animal experiencing a rare mixture of claustrophobia and agoraphobia. _

_She finally gave up and stopped in a clearing. She__ morphed back to her human form, now completely lost and panting. She reached to her belt for her com device to radio the others. She wasn't quick enough to react to the rustling in the bushes behind her..._

She woke with a start, momentarily forgetting where she was until her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw that she was in her own room back at the Institute. She shook her head to rid herself of the bad dream/memory. The sound of steady, light breathing alerted her to the presence of someone else in the room. She looked around and saw Jubilee curled up asleep in a chair.

Rahne rubbed the sleep from her eyes and felt the collection of Steri-Strips on her cheeks and forehead, and across her neck - how badly was she hurt? She got up quietly from her bed not wanting to disturb Jubilee, and flinched when she remembered her more serious injury. She bit her lip uncertainly, but decided to quickly and swiftly sneak out the door of her room in her pale pink pyjama shorts and tee to the bathroom down the hall.

She silently crept along the empty hallway suddenly having a dim recollection of the Beast's instructions that she should remain in bed and should not be left alone. To her, that all seemed more like recommendations rather than explicit medical advice from a trained professional - but if she really believed that then why would she be worried about getting caught?

She flicked the switch for the bathroom light and went straight to the mirror. She leaned on the sink to look closely at her face and neck. Series of fine red lines tracked by little train-track strips marked her forehead, her cheek and her neck diagonally from high on her left and across. She wasn't normally a vain person, but in this instance she was hypnotised by them, hoping they wouldn't scar. She raised her hand to trace the lines and began thinking about how she got them...

_A sharp blow to the back of her head was the first indication that things weren'__t going well. She nearly fell forward to her knees but a swift kick to her side knocked her in the direction of a tree. She felt the com device crushing between her hip and the hard ground as she hit the dirt. The dry and rocky ground scraped her skin as her body lost momentum, arresting at the base of the Elder._

_As she came to a stop, she let instinct take over and quickly__ transformed to Wolfsbane - springing back from the fall by kicking her hind legs off from the tree to launch herself at her victim. She could see the fear in his eyes. _

_She flew through the air but upon landing, he managed to throw her weight off centre __causing them to crumple up together. She growled furiously as she tried to get a few swipes and bites in as they fell, but she hit the ground first. She tried to roll them advantageously, giving her the necessary position for a strong push from the ground. She pushed the man in a shoulder tackle into the tree using her full wolf body weight to knock him out with force. _

_His head hit the tree with a clunk, but at the same time she felt a searing pain in her side and yelped loudly. She peeled herself back from him letting him fall to the ground unconscious, but she couldn't breathe; the pain in her side prevented it. She stood on her hind legs and bent her neck forward and down just able to make out the injection pen buried deep into her side before things started to go fuzzy..._

She stood, looking at herself in the mirror, tracing her fingers along the red lines from her scrum with the man. Her fingers ran over the strips but it didn't hurt. She frowned and still felt no pain from tension on her forehead. She was confused. Gently, she peeled off the first strip from the cut on her forehead, and then the second - soon she had the whole line undone and started inspecting the skin underneath. She rubbed at the red line of dried blood and it easily flaked off. Now she was even more confused as the skin underneath was perfect.

Quickly she peeled off the rest of her collection of paper stitches from her face and neck and from her left shoulder and arm while the hot water was running and filling in the sink. The steam fogged up the mirror and the room. She was amazed as she cleaned off her skin with a hot damp cloth and looked closely for imperfections or any sign of her struggle - there were none. Rahne couldn't believe it; did she have a healing factor?

She recalled her more serious injury and turned and twisted to look at her side - lifting the hem of her pyjama top, she expected to see nothing but perfectly healed skin. She stretched and it didn't hurt, but it didn't look right either. Her skin had healed completely, but extending outwards from the point of impact of the injection pen, radial angry red lines grew. She ran her fingers over the mark. It didn't hurt but it did feel a little tender. It was an odd reaction; if she was supposed to have a healing factor then why was the mark still there? Upon examination, she decided it looked more like an infection or blood poisoning that her body/healing factor was fighting.

She didn't feel like challenging her healing factor so soon only just after discovering it so she fixed her top to go and find the Beast for some antibiotics and a consultation. Just as she walked to the door, the thought occurred to her that he might be too busy to be bothered by her; maybe her healing factor will take care of it. She shrugged, either way she had to find him.

"Rahne?" Jubilee called out, footsteps coming closer and closer to the doorway of the bathroom. She opened the door to the girl. "Not to sound smothering or anything, but you should have woken me up if nature call-your face!" Jubilee shouted, catching a view immediately of Rahne's uninjured face.

"Aye. Aye got'ah really good facial." She told her friend, jokingly before responding to Jubilee's shocked face. "Seems that Aye may have acquired ah healing factor." Jubilee went from shocked to disbelief.

"Omigod! You're kidding me?! How did that happen?!" Jubilee asked randomly and quickly. Rahne was very calm about it.

"Evolution?" Rahne shrugged her response. She lifted her shirt enough for Jubilee to see the other injury. Jubilee saw it and sucked in air.

"Ouch..." She said slowly; Rahne nodded.

"Aye should find Mr. McCoy." She told her, to which Jubilee nodded.

"I'm guessing he'll be in the Medical Bay, but he could be anywhere in the mansion." Jubilee supplied.

"That's okay; Aye'll just sniff 'im out." Rahne decided, she stretched and felt no pain so figured she was alright to transform. Jubilee stepped back. Rahne sniffed the air; half transformed to Wolfsbane and sniffed the air again. Before she had fully transformed she got a twinge in her side, and yelped as she completed the rest of the transformation. She collapsed.

Jubilee rushed forwards to the distressed red Wolf lying on the hallway floor, stretched out before her. As she reached down to touch her, Rahne snapped at her causing Jubilee to quickly retract her hand and go on the defensive. The sound of footsteps rushing up the stairs caused Rahne to stumble to her feet like a drugged dog. Roberto appeared around the corner at the top of the stairs having heard her yelp.

"Rahne!" He shouted rushing forward, but Jubilee pulled him back.

"No, she's not thinking straight!" She informed him quickly, but he pushed away from her to get to Rahne - not even hesitating when he heard the low growl.

"Rahne, what's wrong-" She snapped at him, her growl becoming louder and fiercer. He jumped back towards Jubilee, now knowing that Rahne meant business. Rahne took slow steps towards them, before leaping powerfully for them...

**En****d of Chapter 34**

_A.N. Ooh... what's going on with Rahne? Why didn't Ororo take Kurt's hand? Who is the worst cook - Jamie or Kitty? What memories did Rogue share with Logan about Xavier? Where are Laura and Logan going? Can Jamie come too?! All this and more will be answered... eventually! Hope some previous questions were answered in this chapter! But until the next one: Review, review, review!_ c",) ~ Rí


	35. Chapter 35

**A.N. ****Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! Sorry it took longer than normal, but it's here, the next chapter! Enjoy! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 3****5**

"_Rahne, what's wrong-" She snapped at him, her growl becoming louder and fiercer. He jumped back towards Jubilee, now knowing that Rahne meant business. Rahne now took slow steps towards them then leapt powerfully for them..._

She flew through the air towards them. Jubilee's reaction was one of pure instinct. She threw her hands up in front of her and closed her eyes. Bright lights shot out from her open palms straight for Rahne. Roberto tried to shield his eyes from the fireworks but squinted through to see what was happening to Rahne.

The fireworks worked as they struck Rahne hard, blasting her sideways into the corridor wall, leaving a sizeable dent in the plaster, before she fell to the ground.

"Rahne!" Roberto shouted, springing forwards to see if she was alright. Jubilee stood frozen, looking at what she had done to her friend. Roberto reached to feel her pulse through the fur and heard her breathing steadily. "She's unconscious." He told Jubilee as he fired up as Sunspot to carry the sleeping wolf to the infirmary. "Go find Mr. McCoy, tell him we're coming-"

"Why didn't she transform back?" Jubilee asked quietly. Sunspot stopped talking to take in her point. He looked at Rahne. It was true; whenever she had been knocked out before, which was a regular occurrence in this place, she always transformed back from Wolfsbane to Rahne.

"Find Hank... Now..." He told her soberly, as he moved to carry Rahne to the nearest elevator.

oOo

Sizzle, sizzle. Cl-Clang! Chop, chop! Fizzzz...

The different sounds mingled together like the soundtrack to a busy restaurant kitchen. Sam was boiling and stewing different things on the burner, watching and balancing his time expertly between each thing going and not letting anything burn. Tabitha was chopping and mixing a salad and Amara was frying different kinds of potato treats in the frying pan that was being heated by the palm of her hand as the stove was overcrowded and Bobby made some iced drinks for everyone. Piotr was setting the table around two people sat at it who were not allowed to move.

Jamie and Kitty sat side by side at the dining table forced to watch the busy kitchen. The two unconsciously mirrored one another's poses; both had their heads resting on their arms that were folded in front of them - chins only inches away from the surface of the kitchen table, their mouths buried in their sleeves. Piotr looked at the dancing pairs of eyes watching everyone in the kitchen move about, both pairs wearing a frown. He shook his head and smiled at the innocence of it - it almost reminded him of his family back home, before he learned that he was a mutant.

Kitty's eyes went to Piotr, wondering why he looked like he was in on some joke that she missed. But she soon stopped wondering what he was thinking and instead started to appreciate that he looked happy. Forge walked into the kitchen behind Piotr and took a seat at the table, deciding not to overcrowd the food preparation area with any more bodies. Kitty raised her head and looked over to him when he seated himself.

"So, like, what's happening? We didn't get much information from Kurt earlier." Forge inhaled a deep breath before responding but Jamie's eyes suddenly darted up to the silent television screen in the corner of the room.

"Ey! 'S ebber fork!" Jamie cried out into his sleeve, muffling his speech enough to cause confusion for the others. Kitty, along with everyone but Forge, looked at Jamie.

"What was that?" Kitty asked as Jamie raised his head and pointed at the TV. He was about to repeat himself when Forge spoke up first.

"Hey, it's Webber Torque!" Forge exclaimed for him. Jamie rolled his eyes to him.

"That's what I said!" He told him indignantly. Kitty ignored this comment as now all eyes were on the TV screen. Bobby quickly searched for the remote control to turn up the volume.

"Webber Tor- Arcade?!" Kitty turned to Forge, now having correctly identifying the young man on the screen.

Forge eyes never left the screen as he tried to read the headline on the red banner under the video feed: 'Torque Announces Plans for rEvolutionary New Game'. It looked like a press release from 'Action Torque Games', Arcade's company. Behind the female newscaster in the corner of the screen, they could make out a sharply dressed Webber Torque, along with some other members of the company standing front and centre of a large podium carrying the company logo on the front, and many body guards in the background. Bobby found the remote and the volume was turned up just in time to catch the rest of the announcement.

"_...Games announced the launch of its 'revolutionary' new game, 'Evolution Danger', a controversial new online game that allegedly will allow players to choose to play as humans or mutants. The game has already sparked new debates among minority groups and reignited old debates regarding video game censorship and the mutant problem. 'Action Torque Games' claims that the game has only a mild violence content which is clearly highlighted for their product and although they don't believe that product stirs any political or moral corruptions, the product does not reflect the views and opinions of 'Action Torque Games'."_

The video behind the newscaster had expanded to take up the rest of the screen so Arcade could be clearly made out. As the newscaster finished her speech the video shrunk back again and Kitty started to squint at the bodyguards littered around the back of the shot.

"'_Evolution Danger' is set to launch__ for October and, despite certain controversy, it is fast becoming the most anticipated online game of the year." _The female newscaster finished her report looking to her colleague.

"_I guess there's no such thing as bad publicity, June?" _The male newscaster at the same desk asked her with a smile.

"_Indeed there isn't, Bill." _She finished with a laugh handing over to her co-anchor to lead into his story as Bobby turned the volume down. Forge noticed that people around the room had tensed.

"Uhm, what am I missing here? Do we not like Webber?" Forge asked uncertainly. Eyes darted back and forth between people as Kitty got up to take the remote from Bobby and pause the live TV; she started to rewind it to check something. Bobby was to respond, now that the remote had been usurped.

"Am, how do you know Arcade?" Bobby asked him before answering Forge's question.

"I did some work on his first few games in MIT. The gig paid well." He answered him, unsure of the territory. He didn't notice that Tabitha suddenly decided to take the seat right next to him until she spoke up.

"Really? How well?" Tabitha enquired as she shamelessly draped an arm over the back of Forge's chair, which was noticed with a grin by a few people in the room, but not by Forge.

"Well enough, but this was before he started making the big bucks." Tabitha swiftly removed her arm as Forge pressed on. "Wasn't he in school with some of you?"

"Yeah, he dropped out to work on his games shortly after our, uhm, little 'gathering'." Forge's raised eyebrows silently asked for the story to be continued. Bobby scratched the back of his head before filling in the blanks in his story. "He kinda hacked into Cerebro and set off the Danger Room thinking it was all just a video game."

"What?! I worked with that dude for months and the little fink never mentioned it!" Forge exclaimed as Amara quickly formed a theory.

"Maybe he didn't mention it because he figured out it wasn't a video game?" Nearly all eyes went to Amara; Kitty was still fiddling with the playback. "Well, he thought it was a game at the time but what if when the cat was let out of the bag that we were mutants, maybe he put two and two together?" Tabitha agreed.

"Yeah, think about it; if he really thought it was a game - wouldn't he have been bragging about it to you?" Forge thought about and thought it would be best to agree.

"Probably." He shrugged, but Tabitha wasn't convinced.

"Did he know that you had any connections at the Institute?" She asked, angling her head for his response. He started to shake his head when Kitty zoomed in on part of the screen and gasped.

"Lance?!" Kitty exclaimed having zoomed in closely on one of two smaller bodyguards in the collective background.

"What?!" Several people reacted at the same time - taking the attention off Forge. "Omigod, it _is_ Lance!"

"And Pietro!" Jamie shouted and pointed at the person next to Lance in the picture. The pair of them were almost unrecognisable, being dressed so well. Everyone in the room had a foreboding feeling.

"This can't be good." Sam said to the quiet room. "We gotta tell the Professor." Bobby, Amara and Jamie nodded and exited the room to deliver the message as Kitty stood dumbstruck wondering what Lance was up to. Sam and Tabitha put away the food for later as Forge was left staring at the table top, deep in thought. Piotr stood behind him, eyes slowly going between the screen, Kitty and Forge.

oOo

Laura kept watching the cards flick from one hand to the other. She couldn't see the point in such idle fidgeting except with the hope for an intimidating appearance. She stood still, disciplined. Anyone who was really a danger in her experience was typically a silent threat. Laura tensed upon hearing movement; purely reactive to her stance, Gambit also went on guard. Laura raised an eyebrow to him as Logan pulled aside the curtain around Rogue, himself and Xavier.

Gambit relaxed now that he understood that she only flinched because she heard Wolverine moving, but he still didn't put his cards away.

"Better safe den sorry, petite." He addressed Laura's stare. She really didn't like this guy, and didn't even care enough to growl in response. Logan walked out between them.

"She could take you out inside of three seconds, Cajun." Logan factually told Gambit then turned to Laura. "Show me your claws." Laura frowned at the request but lifted her right hand to him anyway and extended two claws from their housing in her arm.

Snikt!

He nodded.

"Retract 'em." He ordered watching her knuckles closely. She hesitated but did as he asked.

Un-snikt!

The two cuts on her knuckles healed extraordinarily fast. Her healing factor was fully operational. Logan nodded.

"Good. How do you feel?" He asked as she now figured out what he was trying to gauge. She straightened her posture.

"I feel ready." She told him. The Beast observed these proceedings from a few feet back by Duncan Matthews and approached them out of earshot of Scott and the unconscious Jean.

"Her body successfully eliminated all traces of the toxin, according to her blood work earlier. However, I would still advise caution." Laura rolled her eyes at the mollycoddling. Xavier addressed Laura directly.

"The poisonous powder that was used on you in Rochester was from a muta-toxin found in a drink called Powr-8, except this was much more concentrated for use as a crude and unsuccessful weapon; it harmed everyone who came in contact with it. Now, they have managed to refine it for use as a weapon by means of darts and injections. They are calling it LDX. It is highly potent and highly dangerous."

Gambit was confused at the word 'refine'.

"How did they refine it?" Gambit asked the room the dark question. Logan chose to answer it.

"They've been testing it on people." Logan replied succinctly. Gambit, once more, didn't like the choice of words.

"People?" He asked as he, Laura and the Beast waited for the clarification.

"Humans and mutants." Laura was the only one of the three of them that was not shocked by the answer. She had witnessed how far people were willing to go for research and knew that logically it made sense. If someone wanted to introduce this as an Anti-Mutant weapon, then they would have to test it on Mutants to gauge the lethal dose but also ensure that the dose would not kill humans if they were caught in the crossfire, well, if Human supremacy was the objective.

"The disappearances..." Hank breathed. Xavier nodded solemnly.

"Yes, it seems there are ways to alert these people of suspect mutants," Xavier briefly looked at the still Duncan Matthews behind him, "by such youth organisations that Mr. Matthews here was involved in, which would be followed by disappearances or, more accurately, kidnappings and arson." These topics were very heavy to digest, so Xavier gave it a moment to settle.

"We have gained some insight on these operations from Brad Saunders, Guy Spears' assistant. I am hopeful that we will be able to stop these people or at the very least - save as many would-be-victims as possible." He addressed Laura again. "It is a dangerous mission; however, I am confident that the healing factors, which you and Logan possess, will give you the ability to fight off the poison if it should come to that." Laura stood tall but Xavier couldn't help but pick up the memory of the absolute agony that the poison caused her when she had been exposed to it.

"When do we leave?" Was all she asked them, her voice as tough as nails.

Bamf!

Kurt appeared by Rogue's bedside directly blocking Laura's view of Rogue - he didn't trust her one bit. He looked to Logan.

"Storm has the jet ready." Logan nodded and walked out of the room, followed closely by Laura.

Not long after they left, Jubilee ran in frantically shouting things about Rahne. She quickly grabbed Hank and pulled him towards the door just as Sunspot walked past the blasted out windows carrying the wolf. Gambit quickly jumped through the non-window to help, leaving Kurt with Rogue and Scott with Jean. Duncan Matthews had no one.

oOo

He followed the corridor to the hangar. He didn't know why he left the kitchen to head there, but his feet brought him there unconsciously. That wasn't true. He knew what he was doing. He had been watching her pace in the kitchen, worried for her friends and pupils in the infirmary, all the while, no one telling her what she should really have been focusing on. What he didn't know was why Logan or the Beast hadn't said anything to her yet. Did they not think it was a matter of urgency or had they simply put the life of one person aside while they attend to others?

He reached the entrance to the hangar and heard the deafening sound of the X-jet firing up different pitches and vibrations as part of the start-up sequence. The steps descended on the ramp as Storm appeared on them and floated down, letting the jet warm up for Logan and Laura.

She floated down almost as far as the door when she spotted him staring at her from the doorway. She landed in front of him gracefully, concern etched in her face as a response to his troubled look.

"Ray! Is something wrong?!" She asked him loudly as she approached him.

"I..." Ray started but felt a hand on his shoulder that stopped him. Logan and Laura appeared behind him, the hand belonging to Logan as Laura continued on and headed for the jet. Ray turned to look at Logan, silently asking if he should tell Ororo what they learned about Evan and the poison. Logan nodded with an uncharacteristic pat on the shoulder.

"The jet is ready! Where are we going?!" Ororo shouted to Logan over the sound of the jet.

"We," Logan indicated to himself and Laura as he walked towards the plane, "are headin' south!" Storm frowned at him indicating that she was annoyed being asked to start the jet when she wasn't going. She wasn't a valet. Logan sighed a low and rumbled sigh. "I wanted to have a word with ya before we left, but Sparky there looks like he wanted to do that!"

Ray wasn't going to be able to back out of it, thanks to Logan. Ororo turned as Logan entered the jet and faced Ray. Under her scrutiny, he only hesitated for a moment before he thought it best to not dance around the topic.

"I was talking to Evan!" He told her straight out. Her face reacted to the statement, quickly displaying surprise.

"When?!" She stepped forwards quickly to attempt to get the information faster as the Jet taking off behind her almost drowned Ray out.

"Me, Hank, Logan and Jamie went to see the Morlocks, while you were in L.A.." Ray told her quickly in the silence that followed the jet taking off and the hangar doors closing.

"Why?" She asked simple, one-worded questions as her brain could not process anything more complex given the topic of conversation. Worry for Evan always seemed to diminish her capacity to think straight.

"We went to find out what their cure was for the toxin in the Spears Sports drink, to see if we could use it against that powdered poison that Laura had thrown on her in Rochester."

"And the injection pens Rahne discovered in L.A.." Ororo agreed that it would be useful. "Well, what did you find? What was the cure?"

"Well, that's just it. It manages the symptoms but it's not a cure." Ray told her in no uncertain terms, but she when she tried to understand what he was saying she kept drawing impossible conclusions which just increased her confusion.

"So, what are you saying? Evan's still poisoned?!" Storm asked trying to control the level of volume and pitch in her voice and stay calm but was finding it increasingly difficult. All Ray could do was nod but Ororo wouldn't accept it. "No, he would have said something to me or to someone here." Ray shook his head slowly from side to side.

"He would never want you to worry about him; he wouldn't want anyone to worry about him." Ray said to her. "He'd never ask for it himself, but he needs help. Like, I dunno, an intervention or something?"

Ororo started move towards Ray. He didn't recognise the look in her eyes. She reached for the control panel next to the door that was situated behind him. She pressed a few buttons. Ray had no idea what was going on until he heard hangar doors to the waterfall opening with the sound of straining metal, flooding the hangar with the thunderous sound of crushing water.

"Wait, what're you going to do?!" Ray shouted over the noise to her as she backed away from him.

"I am going to bring him home!" She shouted like a regal announcement. She had had enough of Evan's games, she should have brought him home long before now. From what Ray could see as she floated up into the air before him, she was upset, worried, angry and determined; all things that would go against her if she was trying to bring Evan home. She was too emotional to be thinking straight, the only thing she would accomplish would be driving Evan further away and that was the last thing any of them wanted.

"Wait!" He shouted to her but she ignored him as gusts flew up around her, guiding her straight out of the hangar doors to Evan. Ray silently cursed to himself. He turned and started in a flat out run to the garage to follow her on wheels.

**En****d of Chapter 35**

_A.N. So what questions do we have this week? Did this chapter clarify anything for anyone? Did it complicate things further? Let me know what you think! ~Rí_

_Oh, and sorry for making everyone wait so long for this one. Major drama on ice just before christmas. Had a timpiste (car accident) on black ice; no one was hurt thank goodness and it was the ice's fault. The car was hit and got a fair bit damaged so I had to spend alot of time sorting that out - still sorting it out in fact. Meh, it's all good - just wish the weather would improve. _

_So, leave me a review to cheer me up over the car! c",) Hee, hee; talk about emotional exploitation! ;) _


	36. Chapter 36

**A.N. Hello! Thanks for the lovely reviews. Ye've been very patient! ****Again, life and the weather got in the way so took longer than normal, but it's here, the next chapter! Enjoy! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 3****6**

Ray burst through the garage door, almost losing his footing as he missed the few steps down. He barely balanced himself in time to avoid smacking his head into the side of the X-van. He regained his composure to make a choice as to which vehicle he would commandeer. The three closest vehicles to him were the X-Van, Scott's little red sports car and Rogue's motorcycle. He hesitated for a fraction but shrugged. She's in a coma, she won't miss it.

He ran forward to hop on to Rogue's bike and sent a jolt of electricity from his right index finger through the ignition. The bike rumbled to life. The sound was music to his ears, but he suddenly felt like someone was watching him. He quickly looked around the room, but shrugged. It was funny, if felt almost like Rogue was watching him, disapprovingly. He shrugged once more before committing himself and accelerating his newly acquired bike out the garage door and sped off after 'Ro. Fortunately, he wouldn't need any tracking skills to find her - all he had to do was follow the thunderheads.

oOo

Click, click. Beep. Wrrrr.

Logan pressed a few of the buttons in the guidance system and entered the objective co-ordinates. Everything entered and the auto-pilot set, his seat in the jet retracted from the console, allowing him to get up and stretch his legs for a fraction. He turned and looked to Laura. She was staring straight ahead out of the jet; sitting straight and taking in each of the functions on the console before her. By now, he figured she had figured everything about the jet. Probably part of her training at some stage, or maybe they were going to cover that the year she escaped...

She stared straight ahead. The brilliant blue sky and sun were right there in front of her and the fluffy white blanket of clouds below; but she didn't she them. She saw how the jet worked, but she appreciate that it flew. She kept focussed on the mission ahead - the potential dangers and the objectives, but she didn't see or even ask why they were doing this. She just followed orders. She was supposed to be breaking free of all of this, and living her life like a normal person; but she didn't know how. Most people when they're scared would show it, whether they wanted to or not. But she was disciplined. She sat straight and kept her poker face.

Logan stretched and looked at her.

"Relax, kid." He told her, but she didn't move. "It's okay to be scared." At that, she looked at him in surprise.

"I am not scared." She told him adamantly, and he had no reason to not believe her; but he didn't. She turned to face the window again. After a few moments of silence and observation, Logan spoke again.

"You can't keep clinging to your training like a security blanket." He told her toughly. Her face flinched, but she didn't want to gratify him with a response. He sighed when she didn't face him. "It's good to be tough, to keep your head. Makes you a dependable teammate. But you're a person - not a weapon. Don't regress to your training." She still didn't look at him or break her stance. He shook his head and turned to walk the length of the plane, leaving her alone at the helm. Before he walked through the door, he called back to her. "It also makes you predictable."

He kept walking and heard her huff indignantly; he smirked at his super-human ability to antagonise teenagers.

oOo

The lamp light flicked over his desk, illuminating his keyboard and laptops, PC boards and a soldering iron; all highlighted from the darkness of the large empty room. He had schematics, both his attempts and the originals, which only seemed to make sense to their creator. He had pieces of machinery lying around - but he was never any good a shop before and the last few days have proved no exception. But the work he was doing was probably not delicate enough to get these designs working and he was going too slowly. It was aggravating and frustrating. He screamed and nearly wiped a hand across the desk to smash the contents - but thought the better of it. He refused to give in. If their inventor was smart enough to make them work, then he was definitely able to do it. He just needed more time. The irony of this desperate situation stuck him, and he actually grinned.

A knock at the door interrupted his train of thought; the originator didn't even wait for an answer before swinging open the door.

"I told you; I don't care about the damn game! It's brilliant and it will sell, what more do you want?!" Webber shouted at the woman who entered but immediately regretted his tone when he saw that she had brought coffee and doughnuts.

"Of course it will sell," She agreed with him. "And _you_ need to keep your energy up, stay focussed on the next project. Going well, is it?" Ms. Dion asked sweetly as she placed the high calorie food and caffeine in front of the hungry teenager, who was now too distracted to see that she was looking at his progress thus far.

"Hmm, what?" He said, shoving the food into his mouth. She turned her attention to him and smiled.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" She asked him.

"Yeah, the arm of a special mutant..." He said to himself quietly and under his breath; he was still clearly frustrated at not being able to do as much of the mechanical work efficiently. Ms. Dion raised her eyebrows in an 'I-beg-your-pardon' fashion, pretending that she didn't hear him. He shook his head and dismissed her. "Nevermind. Just give me peace and quiet." He had an after-thought to tack on just then. "And keep an eye on those mutants downstairs. I don't trust them." She nodded, her smile faltering a fraction.

"Of course, Sir." She took one last look at his work while he was stuffing his face and swiftly turned and left the room. She closed the door behind her.

"Imbecile." She hissed, and then noticed the bodyguard standing outside. He smiled at her, understanding her grievances for having to work for such a petulant child. She returned a false but bashful smile back to him before continuing on her way.

She walked down the corridor to the elevator and nodded to the other guards that she encountered along the way. Only when she was alone in the little metal box and the doors closed did she take out her cell phone and dial specific number. The phone call was answered straight away without a word at the other end.

"We may need to move our plan forward sooner than I thought." She waited a moment, seeing what he had to say before getting annoyed by his response. "I don't care if you're having a nice time there, it is not a vacation spot. We had a deal; I hope you haven't forgotten our little arrangement?" She heard him become complacent and smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Keep your cell on you." She hung up her cell phone promptly as the elevator doors reopened on the next floor down.

She walked through the doors facing her. She purposefully carried on straight through the apartment passing the other bodyguards on downtime and carried on to the end room where she found her boys relaxing away from the humans: although, it was more likely that the humans were relaxing away from them.

The door swung closed behind her as her skin began to turn blue and her hair red. In seconds, she fully morphed into Mystique.

As soon as she entered, she saw Lance and Pietro playing poker on a small coffee table. Lance was losing of course as little gusts of wind had already trashed the room in their typical brotherhood fashion. They didn't even look up when she entered. She rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, she swung her leg up in the air and brought it down hard on the table separating the two. The table was smashed into pieces before them. Lance fell backwards off his chair and tried to shield himself from the splinters with his arms. Pietro quickly sped out of harm's way as the bits of wood and poker chips shot out in every direction. After the pieces had rained, the cards were the last to float down and settle in the aftermath.

Pietro and Lance both stood up straight and tensed, slowly putting their 'winning' hands down on the nearest surface to un-loosen their ties and promptly give her their full attention.

She smiled at the pair.

"I was sent down to keep an eye on you, boys. Apparently, our 'employer' doesn't trust you." She said with an air of amusement. "I can't imagine why." It was Lance's turn to roll his eyes.

"So what? It's just Arcade." He told her, clearly not seeing her vision in all of this.

"Yeah, remind me why we're working for a human," Pietro quickly asked, "and a pathetic one at that?" Mystique came closer to Pietro, making him rethink his brass with the look she gave him.

"Because, dear Pietro, since your loving father seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet, we've been a little low on resources." Pietro seemed to accept that money was the pure and greedy reason to be doing this somewhat honest work, but Lance knew that there was a lot more than that going on here; but for his own safety, he would keep that quiet for the moment and stick to playing bodyguard.

oOo

_Eventually, the monotony of the plain started changing as he entered large boulder fields of ice as hard as diamonds in interesting, random formations. He caught the multiple scents of his proof of life, and in the stillness of this solitude he was able to hear them barking. He entered into the deep mountains and valleys of ice to follow the sound and scents of the pack of animals..._

His claws struck with force into the ice mountains before him as he climbed and pulled himself up to the top of the massive boulder. He could catch the scent now, it was strong - he was so close. The barking had driven him mad without carrying a scent along with it. The sounds were just echoing of the valleys and cliffs of ice, making it a near impossible task to find the source. But the air was crisp and it almost froze his nose if not for his healing factor that refused to give in to frost bite. There had been nothing to smell, until now. The faintest trace of soot carried to him. Someone was near, and they were keeping warm.

He reached the top of the glacier and scanned the vicinity. Far below in the glistening white, he could make out small black and grey specs in the snow. He sniffed the air, and listened for their barks. Someone's huskies; some curled up in the snow, some running off some excess energy near the opening of an ice cave, where smoke crept out. That was what he was looking for.

He jumped high into the air and descended on the sharp incline down the side of the ice formation. As his feet hit the ice, he swung his right hand and sharp nails into the ice to slide down the cliff face, his nails almost being ripped out against the compacted ice as he slid for a third of a mile, before hitting a flat base point, yards away from the animals.

The huskies jumped at his presence and all turned to face him on high alert. They growled at him, placing the opening to the cave behind them; they would defend it. Sabretooth grinned at them; he always loved a fight - no matter who it was with. He stood his ground and faced then, his nails extending and rippingly sharp. The alpha male in the pack was the first to suggest movement, raising a paw slowly out from the snow, to signal the imminent charge.

All ears, even his, pricked up at some low hissing sound. It wasn't much, but it was enough to signal to the dogs to move aside, parting for Sabretooth signifying that he was permitted to approach the cave.

Smoke seeped out from the opening like a magical mist as a figure crept forward from the shadows. The light reflecting from the ice and snow illuminated his extremely pale skin immediately, despite that only his face was exposed. He was wrapped up as best as possible to conserve heat in desperation.

"Eye neww u werr clothes bye..." He drew out in long and low tones. "Eye centsed eett..." As he emerged from the cave, he squinted to the light and tried to shield his eyes in an ungraceful manner not willing to step out fully from the partial shade that the walls of the ice tavern provided. Sabretooth was easily three times the size of the man before him, the man Magneto sent him to find. Sabretooth growled in amusement at the pathetic, malnourished waste of space before him. Sabretooth walked right up to him; he towered over the man. He looked at him threateningly for a few moments before turning to sit in the snow at the entrance of the ice cave, blocking his escape. He pulled the furs closer around him as his permanent low rumble became words.

"If you can sense that, Caliban," Sabretooth told him as he took out a small device and pressed a button, "then wake me up as soon as bucket head gets here." He pulled his hood down over his eyes to take a power nap as the huskies curled up in the snow and did the same.

oOo

Her legs twitched and nails scrapped along the cold concrete ground where she lay.

She had been there for a while now. She woke up once not so long ago. They gave her a sedative to keep her out while the Beast examined her. But it was a short examination as her body showed signs of waking imminently. The Beast was confused at first why her body was rejecting the sedative, until Jubilee had let them in on her conversation with Rahne just before the incident.

From what he could make out, Rahne's powers had advanced to give her a healing factor, which addressed all her injuries - even her puncture wound. Jubilee claimed that that wound was gone but in its place was some kind of rash or allergic reaction. He and Beast had looked for it under her fur but couldn't find the symptoms she was describing - but they both could tell by how adamant Jubilee had been that it was there, at least in her human form.

Four of them watched, as they debated the cause of her ailments. Everyone decided that it had to be linked to that injection pen, the LDX.

"I don't get it; I thought that this LDX stuff was supposed to kill mutants?" Jubilee asked as she paced the length of the room in front of where Rahne lay.

"The plunger wasn't down... She mustn't have gotten the full dose, just a trace..." Roberto said from where he sat, closest to Rahne. He had his back against the wall and never looked away from her. He watched every twitch and every breath for signs of improvement.

"Even low levels of LDX are harmful," The Beast told them, "And clearly it seems to cause a certain aggressor response and certain loss of control." He summarised. "Fortunately for Rahne, if she has developed a healing factor - I suspect she will make a full recovery; much like Laura." The Beast said optimistically from one side of the room, where he was standing crouched, staring at Rahne as he formed his hypothesis.

Feet away from them, Rahne twitched once more and her eyes opened. Roberto instantly leaned forwards to her, hoping for her to transform back, or at the very least show some recognition in her eyes. She looked at each of them in turn, her eyes finally landing on Roberto.

"Rahne?" He dipped his head low and asked quietly. A low rumble emitted from her chest and turned into a growl as she charged forwards to all of them. She hit the bars separating them with a clang and continued to bark and growl and throw herself against the cage. If they allowed her to keep doing that, she would either seriously hurt herself or succeed and get out and hurt others. Roberto, Jubilee and the Beast backed away from the bars unsure of what to do now or how to placate her.

Fffwhith!

A small dart shot out from behind them and hit Rahne in the neck, bringing her down instantly. The tranquiliser gun was there for exactly that purpose but of the four of them - only one was willing to use it. Roberto didn't like it but he, like the others, knew it was necessary - even if Rahne was just shot by a former Acolyte.

Behind them, leaning against the back wall and lowering the tranquiliser gun from his shoulder to down by his side. Gambit's sharp red eyes studied the girl he just shot and decided to point out a potential problem. He spoke out slowly to the room in his thick Cajun accent.

"Maybe we're gettin' dis'all backwards..." Roberto, Jubilee and even the Beast looked at Remy, trying to understand what he was getting at. Remy put down the gun and kept looking at Rahne as he completed his theory out loud. "Maybe our focus should be: which came first? Was it de poison or de healin' factor?" At his words, everyone turned once more to sleeping wolf in the cage...

**En****d of Chapter 36**

A.N. Ooh, does Gambit have a point (besides the dart)?! And Caliban?! What would Sabretooth and ol' Mags want with him?! Waht's Webber working on, and who did Ms. Dion/Mystique call? Will Ray find 'Ro in time?! Would it have been going too far to get Laura to stamp her foot petulantly along with the huff of indignation...?! Answers people! Let me know what you think, review review review!!!!

P.S. Thanks for the get well wishes for my car! Getting it fixed soon, so can't wait to be driving and not have a draught through the driver door! And, extra good news: the cold snap is over! Woot! It was crazy - we were going between 0 and -12C (30-10F) for the last three and a half weeks - which isn't that extreme by comparison to other countries but Ireland was not designed for snow and ice (we've never even seen a snow plough!)

I can't believe that I was actually missing the rain - after I built my snowdog and snowcat, of course: c",)!


	37. Chapter 37

**A.N. Hello! Thanks for the reviews. Ye're all so lovely! ****Working late this week almost delayed this chapter again - silly work! Enjoy! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 3****7**

"I'm not sure I follow?" Jubilee looked from the Beast to Remy who seemed to understand each other. Roberto went back to his place by the cage to watch the sleeping wolf.

"I think I understand what you're getting at; you're saying that we may need to start looking at the healing factor as a symptom?" The Beast agreed with the Cajun. "It is certainly a trend to consider. Spyke's powers drastically altered once he was exposed to the same poison."

"I jus' think it's something to consider." Remy said as he replaced the reloaded tranquiliser gun back in its place in the corner.

"You think the poison messed with her powers and gave her a healing factor?" Roberto asked uncertainly from his place by the cage.

"Maybe not messed with her powers, more like advanced them?" Hank hypothesised. "Feral types are more tended to healing factors than any other type of mutant."

"But I thought this stuff was supposed to kill mutants? Why would it make them more powerful?" Jubilee asked, still confused.

"A side effect perhaps? Maybe what might not be a high enough dose to kill a mutant might cause them to burn out faster instead." No one liked the sound of that, especially Roberto.

"But Laura recovered, like you said, and she had a healing factor too?" Jubilee spoke up hopefully.

"Yes, but if de healing factor's only der because o' de poison, den we could have a catch-22 situation here." Remy supplied.

"We need to get her to transform back to Rahne." Roberto said firmly. "She was fine, she was healing; she only lost control when she transformed." The Beast nodded, it was as good as anything they had come up with so far and they certainly couldn't keep shooting her full of tranquilisers.

"I think we might be able to do that." The Beast rubbed his chin as he played out his idea in his head. "Yes, I think this will work." He turned sharply to Jubilee. "Jubilee, come with me." Jubilee and the Beast quickly exited the room, although she still looked confused. Roberto and Remy looked at each other, realising that neither understood the Beast's plan. Remy shrugged and picked up the gun again, and placed it within easy reach of Roberto in case he needed it.

"I'm gonna go check on de others." Roberto nodded and turned his attentions back to Rahne in her cell, wishing once more that she would wake up for him.

oOo

_She walked through the house. It was dark and unwelcoming, and although things were as she remembered - everything had changed. __The colours of the hallway seemed muted. Lamps and plants cast shadows against the wall. In the corner of her vision, she thought she could see these shadows morph into dangerous shapes; shapes with eyes. She spun on the spot to catch them staring - but they were just normal shapes when she looked properly. _

_She took small steps in her bare feet. She crept forwards through this place that was no longer her home. She heard voices that were of her friends but were cold and distant. She couldn't make out what they were saying. She had a feeling she never would. She felt colder at the thought. She rubbed her arms. Oddly, one arm was sore but her hand was warm to the touch._

_She passed pictures of two people that she barely recognised. They were familiar to her. They wore big, fake smiles. Perhaps that was what made them look so foreign to her. Not once had she seen them smile in this house._

_She walked to the kitchen and over to the sink. She unfolded her __arms, the sleeves of her plain white dress fell forwards from her elbows and the hem tickled the back of her knees. She placed her palms on the edge of the counter and leaned forwards. Her finger nails scrapped the underside of the work top as she gripped to give herself more height for the window. The counter was cold. _

_The day outside was in grey__scale but she could make out a teenage boy playing basketball on their court. The activity made him happy, which in turn made her happy. Even when he was small, she would always go out of her way just for the little things for him. It was just her though. There was a time when their parents would have done the same, but that was before they moved here. Here, they didn't talk and their little girl became the favourite for all the wrong reasons. They never talked about before. They were ashamed of him. She hated them for it._

_Outside he was still playing; a teenage boy, but in her eyes an innocent child. She smiled as he got a three-pointer with an added swish through the net._

_She heard quiet muffled breathing behind her and turned away from the window to investigate. She didn't see him at first until she walked around the kitchen table. He was cowering in the corner, the same boy, with his face buried into the crook of his elbow and his knees tucked up to his chest. His clothes were burned and charred but he wasn't. Instead he was bloodied and bruised._

"_...Jan?" His voice was muffled and pained. She jumped forwards, kneeling on the floor before him. She didn't know what to do. _

"_Chris? What's wrong, what happened?" She asked quickly, her eyes dancing to take in his appearance. _

"_They know, they saw me... They were waiting for me after school..." He talked into his arms. His eyes lifted up from his elbow enough for her to see the bruises. He looked through her, vacant._

"_Oh God, what did they do? Are you alright?!" Clearly he wasn't alright, she didn't know why she asked him that. He still didn't look at her when he answered._

"_I made a mistake in shop class; we were doing hot metal work. I dropped something so I caught it –__ it was instinct. I didn't even notice that it was really hot..." His voice got quieter. "They tried to burn me with matches; when that didn't work they settled for beating me up." His voice died off until a new thought struck and he started talking frantically. "Mom and Dad are going to kill me; they went to so much trouble before - moving to hide what I really was. And now I've gone and ruined everything!"_

"_It's okay, it's not your fault – you shouldn't have to hide in the first place." She tried to make contact with his eyes, but he wouldn't look at her; her blonde fringe was falling in front of her eyes obscuring her vision. She reached out to touch his arm, but her hand just went through him like he wasn't even there. She quickly backed away quickly and found a cell phone in her hand. He took his head fully out of his arms and leaned back to bump the back of his head against the wall behind him rhythmically in self-blame as he talked into one of his hands._

"_I'm a freak__, Jan!" She looked from his hand to the phone in hers and quickly put it to her ear._

"_Chris, listen to me. You are not a freak! You are gifted, and not just as a mutant. You're good at sports, you're artistic and a mathematical genius. And you can always make me laugh when I'm upset." He half laughed, she could her over the phone, and he half smiled in front of her but the image of him faded until she was back in her room in Rochester._

"_Yeah, well, you're the only one who appreciates my bad jokes."__ She smiled at his voice over the cell phone._

"_Hey, and don't worry about Mom and Dad. I'll talk to them." She put down the phone and turned to her friend sitting next to her on her bed. She was on the verge of tears._

"_How bad__ly was he hurt?" Esther asked. Jan shrugged._

"_Bunch of guys, __he didn't even know half of 'em, beat him up pretty good. No permanent damage, but it'll probably mean they'll have to move again." Esther placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, when they both heard a door close downstairs. Esther looked down through the floor boards and looked back to Jan – her eyes a slightly darker shade, and subtly red._

"_Zara and Owen are back." She told her. They stood to go downstairs and help them make dinner. Just before they left the room, they shared a look; they both knew the other wouldn't breathe a word of what they were just talking about to anyone. Esther would never betray her trust._

_Jan took a step out of her doorway but her foot didn't meet the ground where she expected it to__, she just fell into darkness. She hit a hard tiled ground. Immediately she knew she was in there kitchen on her hands and knees, despite the darkness. Someone was with her._

"_I think they're after the mutant." Esther cried to Jan, her voice breaking. Jan was confused._

"_You mean, you?!" Jan replied in her panic stricken voice._

"_No, I mean..." Esther gasped and grabbed her by arm. Jan could feel her looking at her. "Jan, who did you tell?!" Esther shook her. "Who?!" Jan choked on her own words._

"_I'm sorry, Ess, I didn't mean to!" She was shoved hard to her left but something sharp was stuck into her right arm-_

"Aagh!" She woke with a scream when she felt her arm being gripped roughly through the bars and yanked out. The pain she felt while sleeping was that of another needle being jabbed straight into the crook of her elbow at the hands of a professional.

"No! Leave her alone!" She heard Ryan shout at them from just behind her. Her eyes adjusted to the light to see that cruel and sadistic doctor was back and currently taking a blood sample from her, not injecting her for once. It was over quickly and jerked her arm away from mad woman and crept back a safe distance from the bars from her.

"Thank you." The doctor with short red hair nodded to her. Portuguese; definitely a Portuguese accent, she decided.

"You could have at least woken me..." She mumbled back bravely cheekily to her, but she didn't feel that brave as her heart pounded in her chest and head drowning out the sound of her own voice to her. However, the doctor was not listening – instead she was writing information on the ten cubic centimetre sample she just took from the girl and adding it to a tray.

She had brought two men in with her to hold down the less cooperative patients. Jan looked past her and saw that the cells had filled since she was last awake. She thought she saw long dark hair of an Asian looking girl asleep in the cell across and left of hers – she hoped it was her housemate Zara. There were guys who were clearly mutants in the cell across from hers and up one to the right. She couldn't see any other occupants than them for her view point in her own cell.

"This one next." The mad doctor pointed to the cell facing Jan's. A little guy was in there, looking very ill but she wasn't too sure if that had anything to do with the poison.

"Oh no, not again! Look, yo, I told you I'd answer your questions, ask me anything! (But no capital cities, I don't know any...)" The sickly looking, green tinged teenager told them backing back to a corner of the cell when he saw their approach. They were almost upon him when he suddenly sprang up and leap frogged over them, landing on the other side of the cell. "Okay, okay; ask me state capitals!" The jump tired him out before one of the men grabbed him, tackling the slippery toad to the floor. He groaned as the two big guys held him down and the doctor came towards him with the needle. "Aww, I hate this part!" He groaned as she took a sample from him. When they were done, they left him there on the floor and retreated from his cell, locking it behind them.

"You okay, Toad?" A colossal sized man, who wasn't doing too hot either, in the next cell over asked the 'Toad'.

"I think I gonna be sick..." Toad declared and scrambled for a bucket, clearly the nausea and weakness were his main side effects from being poisoned. He was starting to sweat. Quickly she went back to the edge of her cell and reached out through the bars; that doctor had already sampled her once, she would hardly come back for seconds now that she was moving on to the large man's cell.

"Ryan?" She whispered out to him. She felt him take her hand.

"I'm here. Are you okay? What did they do?" He asked her quickly, squeezing her hand.

"I'm fine; they just took some blood from me." She told him as she tried to gauge his temperature. He was really hot. "You're still burning up?"

"I'm okay, really." He assured her. Across from Ryan's cell, instead of taking a blood sample from the giant blob of a man, they injected him with something other than the poison they had been given. Whatever it was, it was a huge syringe. She saw the big guy quickly fall asleep. From that, she determined it was horse tranquiliser or, at least, something not far off from it. Seems the doctor didn't have enough poison for the big guy.

The main door beeped and opened, letting in a tall, blond business man in a designer suit. Jan struggled to identify him, but she knew he was high profile. This was highly disconcerting. If he was comfortable showing his face here with all these people still somewhat alive, he must have been fairly confident that these people would never see the light of day again to tell their story. He walked directly to the doctor woman, who was looking slight impatient with him. He turned on his charm for her, even though she was a good bit older than him. He smiled.

"Natasha." He greeted her; her eyes quickly darted from cell to cell in paranoia.

"Doctor would suffice, Mr. Spears." She bit out to him with a razor sharp tongue. He still smiled.

"Cheer up, Doctor, our next shipment is due any minute now by courier." He leaned in closer to her. "And I have a surprise for you – an added bonus for your work here." She relaxed a fraction at the news of more LDX and was intrigued by her surprise.

Guy Spears, Jan remembered him now, turned back to the door to signal to the men outside to bring in the 'surprise'. The door beeped to unlock and was swung open wide. The men opening the door blocked her immediate view of what they were bringing, but by their feet she could see the two wheels of a trolley supporting a big board. She could make out someone's feet restrained to the board. As the men parted, Jan couldn't help but gasp at the sight; and felt something churn in her stomach at the evil this place was capable of. Strapped tightly to the board, sporting a shredded uniform and many bruises was the most beautiful, blond angel...

oOo

"I understand your concerns everyone, but if Lance and Pietro have found themselves in respectable employment, then I have no issues with that." Xavier told Bobby, Amara and Jamie who had imagined this news to cause more alarm than that from their mentor. They quickly started spouting random reasons why the Professor should be concerned but he quickly held up a tired hand to silence them.

"It is very late; most of you need sleep – as do I." He told them all honestly. "We will discuss this in the morning." He dismissed the group. Their shoulders slumped as they walked to their dorms. Gambit rounded the corner against them and quickly spotted Xavier.

"How are things down here?" Gambit asked the old man, his head indicating to the room behind him. Xavier turned and looked back to the room with the shattered windows.

"We moved them each to their own rooms for the night; this room is in need of some slight 'redecorating'." Xavier indicated to the windows and the sliced up gurney. "Scott is staying with Jean. Mr. Matthews was a difficult case, it will take some time, but he will make a full recovery. Once restored, we will have to alter some of his memories to protect Jean." Xavier picked up from Gambit that he didn't think Jean was the one who needed protection. "And Rogue." He added, which swayed Gambit back to their side. "And Kurt won't leave Rogue's side but I feel that she will wake up when she is ready." Gambit nodded and thought he should inform the man of the other goings on in his mansion.

"McCoy has a plan to help Wolfsbane, not sure what though, but it looks like some o' dat LDX got to her after all." Gambit told the man. Xavier nodded.

"Yes, I picked that up." Xavier sighed tiredly at the antics in the mansion. He had two ex-Weapon X people in his jet on a dangerous mission, he had an angry and upset instructor heading straight for her nephew with a student following her closely. Nearby, his two star pupils were in one hospital room, Jean unconscious for her own good and Scott wanting nothing other than for her to wake up. There was a man locked up in a cell downstairs, he had not decided what he was going to do with him yet. He had a student locked up downstairs near their prisoner but this was for her own safety and there's. He had three sulking teenagers heading for their dorms and more in the kitchen. And to top it all off, he had one of the most increasingly mysterious mutants not letting him help her with her powers. He had left her with Kurt; her brother was watching her closely.

Gambit stood before him, his mind totally in the present. Charles had noticed that he did that a lot. He was unsure if it was a natural thing for him to do or if it took conditioning. His present thoughts were about checking in on a certain southern belle.

They could hear Hank and Jubilee down the hall getting supplies.

"I'm gonna help 'em with Rahne but I just want to check-" Xavier nodded to him, holding up his hand in a 'say-no-more' fashion. Gambit nodded back and Xavier moved his chair towards the elevator leaving Gambit behind. He needed to rest.

Gambit turned to the room where Kurt and Rogue were and could hear the blip of the heart monitor straight away when he opened the door. He entered the room where the curtain was drawn around Rogue's bed and saw Kurt asleep in the chair next to her bed. The monitors were just behind him – beeping away. As Gambit drew closer to pull back the curtain he noticed something small and orange glowing, clipped to Kurt's finger. He frowned, recognising it as the heart monitor clip, the wire joining the machine above.

In one quick movement, Gambit quickly pulled aside the curtain. The bed was empty.

**En****d of Chapter 37**

_A.N. The Law of FanFics: The speed at which one writes is directly proportional to the number of reviews one gets from their previous chapter... _

_Review, review, review! Oh, and thanks to the people who been marking me as a favourite - that's so nice!!!_


	38. Chapter 38

**A.N. Hello! Thanks for the lovely reviews this week guys - sorry I didn't get much time to reply to them this week, w****orking late again this week. Apologies. Here's the next part of he story! Enjoy! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 3****8**

"You have to wake up." A quiet voice whispered through the air. "Wake up from whatever this is because this, this can't be real." He whispered to her.

Beep.

She felt like she was intruding on a private moment, but things had to be done. She could enter now, or wait until later; but this was later. She decided to wait another few minutes.

Beep.

"Please wake up. I'm sick of talking to myself. I need you to answer me. I need to hear your voice... Please..." He brushed back her hair from her face, even though it was already perfect since she hadn't moved in days.

Beep.

Poor guy. He wasn't eating, and he barely drank enough to keep him conscious. He looked like he might fall asleep there, again.

Beep.

"I can't hear you anymore." He said sadly, but then smiled to himself as if remembering a fond memory. "I never even noticed that I could hear you. Not before. I knew we shared a connection. I knew you could hear me but I never noticed that, on some level, I could hear you." He lowered his head on to his arms on the bed. "I always heard you." He said slowly and softly.

Beep.

She couldn't see his eyes behind the glasses so she couldn't tell if he was sleeping. She waited until she could hear even breathing before creeping into the room. Her heart went out to him, but he was not helping anyone by just staying there all day; and he definitely wasn't helping himself. She put down the fresh dressings and pulled back the blankets on Jean to change her packing and check her shunt. Scott didn't wake up the whole time.

Beep.

Tabitha noted the time and date in a chart for Hank later. It was funny; the future doctor was lying in the pretend hospital bed in a mansion basement but barring the Prof and Hank, Tabitha had the most medical experience of anyone in the mansion. She never saw herself becoming a doctor or a nurse, but after all of this, thoughts of maybe becoming a medic entered her head. She had the knowledge and, when focussed, she had the brains to expand on that knowledge.

Beep.

Of course, the Hippocratic Oath she would possibly have a problem with. Not necessarily the 'do no harm' part, although maybe it was the 'do no harm' part. The confusion extended from her medical resume. Somehow, she never got a good grasp of ethics from patching up her father and friends after bank jobs that didn't go so well. And for some strange reason, they just didn't feel comfortable going to the hospital.

Beep.

She looked over at Scott, who was still asleep and malnourished. She finished putting everything away and cleaning up after the work. She pulled up the blanket around Jean. Red wasn't her favourite person over the last week or so and typically everyday Jean was a dull nightmare anyway. But when the girl let loose she was fun. And in a battle, Jean was dependable... the last few days notwithstanding.

Beep.

She picked up a blanket to place around Scott's shoulders, but she looked at his slumped position hunched over his arms on the bed, sitting in the chair next to Jean. Tabitha put the blanket back down and saw a small shadow and then a big shadow walk past the blinds. She popped out to the hallway and saw Forge and Piotr walking further down the corridor. She ran up to them and looped her arm around Piotr's.

"Hey, mind if I steal these muscles for a minute?" She said with a mischievous grin. Piotr looked down at her, towering over her.

"I will need them back." Piotr said with an almost straight face until the corners of his mouth twitched up for a second. Tabitha's grin grew even wider.

"Watdya do you know; cute and funny." She said to Forge who just smiled and nodded back to her. "This will only take a sec." She pulled Piotr into Jean's room and let go of his arm to go over to a supply cabinet.

"What exactly do you need me to do?" Piotr asked as quietly as possible with his thick Russian accent.

"You're going to help me move Scott." She whispered to him loudly as she found what she was looking for. Piotr observed the sleeping man and frowned.

"Can you not wake him up so he can walk to where you want to move him?" He mimicked her loud whispering as she crossed over in front of him to Scott's side.

"No. If I wake him, he'll object and just stay here." She held something shiny up to the light and quickly jabbed it in to Scott's upper arm as Piotr suddenly realised it was a needle.

"Вы cумасшедший?! What is that?!" Piotr said as alarmed as possible. Tabitha smiled; this was the most animated she had ever seen him.

"Relax, I just gave him some Phenobarbital. Keep him nice and sleepy." She told him as she discarded the used syringe and ruffled Scott's hair. Thinking back to her earlier thoughts; yeah, it was probably the ethics part she had trouble understanding. She looked up at Colossus expectantly. "Well, aren't you gonna help me move him?" Piotr stared but then shrugged and decided to just go with it. He walked over and quickly hauled the sleeping beauty over one of his shoulders.

"Where do you want me to put him?" He asked her. Her eyes quickly darted around and she stepped out into the hallway wondering if there were any free beds. A handsome Cajun man with red on black eyes quickly ran out from the door to Rogue's room and sprinted past her. Tabitha walked over to the door and looked in to find a sleeping elf next to a Rogue-less bed. Tabitha turned around to Piotr.

"Free bed in here." She smiled to him and indicated with her thumb. She then looked at the sleeping Kurt. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked the Russian.

oOo

They entered the cage slowly, flinching at every twitch and flicker of her ears. Growing more confident, Roberto knelt down beside her and held up Wolfsbane's unconscious head for the Beast to place a funnel in her mouth. Jubilee crept over behind them and came close enough with a bowl of a warm liquid to pour down Rahne's throat.

Wolsfbane coughed and resisted before swallowing most of the contents. Jubilee cringed at the sound. The Beast let Wolfsbane go as did Roberto, placing her head down gently and stroking her neck before he stood and followed the others out, locking the cage behind him. Jubilee took Roberto's seat by the cage with some folded items on her lap while Roberto and Hank stayed standing.

"What did we just give her?" Roberto asked.

"A quickly designed elixir containing a few things that should help get Rahne thinking straight." The Beast explained. "Basically, it is a combination of non-drowsy painkillers to ease any discomfort she might be in that could be causing her to think like a hurt animal, accompanied by some mood enhancers to increase the effect and all pulled together in a high Iodine emulsion, which according to the Morlocks, helps to ease the symptoms of LDX exposure." Roberto nodded but fretted about pumping Rahne full of so many drugs. Also, Beast's elixirs didn't always work out as intended – the furry blue Beast in front of him being case in point.

"So what do we do now?" Roberto asked looking back at Rahne.

"We wait." The Beast replied with a shrug.

"I'll stay with her." Jubilee spoke up from the corner. Roberto was about to object before the Beast's hand descended on his shoulder, encouraging him out the door.

"Thank you, Jubilee." The Beast and Roberto walked out of the door.

"Why couldn't I stay?" Roberto asked quickly as soon as the door closed behind them. Beast sighed.

"Jubilee needs to have a turn looking after her. I suspect that she feels guilty that she let Rahne out of bed in the first place." Roberto half understood, but he still didn't see the need for him to be kicked out. Beast decided to cement the point. "In addition, there a high probability that when Rahne transforms back she will not be in suitable attire." Roberto's neck nearly snapped with the speed his head turned to Hank. It didn't take long before Roberto's face was crimson.

"Okay, am, I see your logic." Roberto said quietly, scratching his head, as he recalled the folded items in Jubilee's lap were clothes for Rahne. The Beast couldn't help but smirk. He patted Roberto on the shoulder.

"You should get some sleep – it's very late and it will be a few hours before we see any effects of the medication." Roberto nodded and wandered off down the hall distractedly, his cheeks still a bit red.

oOo

_He landed on the roof __of the building that he had followed the van to and searched the edges for a fire escape or an open window. The building had a helipad landing site on the top and judging from the number of ventilation shafts on the roof, it was a good bet that this was a hospital he was standing on. He looked around; he saw a flag and a symbol on the roof access door into the establishment. It was a university hospital, specialising in research. The research focussed on the most was whatever flavour of the month someone was willing to sponsor. They used to have fantastic programs – he remembered his mother organising fundraisers for them. He couldn't remember for what disease or problem; for all he knew it was for curing his 'condition'. But since the economy collapsed, hospital administrators were willing to sell their souls not to be shut down. That kind of loose morals, in this city and given what he saw nearly a full day before which lead him here combined to make Angel very nervous._

_He glided down __to crawl in through an open window. He landed himself in a locker room, which was handy. He saw a sweater on a chair and chucked it into a scrubs machine. He quickly threw on the dispensed blue scrubs over his uniform, tearing room for his wings to stick out. He pulled his mask down around his neck and grabbed a lab coat belonging to a 'Dr. A. J. Thomas' and slipped it on over his wings. The coat conveniently had a stethoscope and swipe ID in the pocket. Angel heard the sound of running water from the bathroom; Dr. Thomas he presumed. He snuck out of the locker room quickly and clipped his ID badge to hang over the embroidered name and to hang backwards so only the swipe side of the ID card showed. _

_He wand__ered around whatever corridors were the least crowded to get used to the layout of the building before he got the idea to head for the basement to see if he could find the men that were driving the van and maybe even follow them. He avoided the security guards and made his way downstairs. It didn't take him long to find the van and the men waiting outside of it with a briefcase handcuffed to one of their wrists. One of the two was smoking a cigarette, blatantly ignoring the 'No Smoking' signs up around the place due to the Oxygen cylinders all around them. _

_Angel hung back though he was tempted to approach, but his patience paid off when he saw a man a little older than himself emerged with bodyguards to handover the case.__ Guy Spears paid the men cash in hand and the case switched ownership. He turned to leave and Angel ducked behind a pillar to avoid being seen when he thought Guy had seen him. But Guy simply touched his ear and moved on taking his bodyguards with him. _

_Warren sighed and went to move forwards to follow when a few sets of heavy hands descended on him. Angel flexed his wings on__ instinct and heard a few snaps of breaking bones of the men who tried to grab him but soon enough, an army descended on him..._

They were outside the door, the doctor woman and Guy Spears. Everyone stared as they left and waited until the door was closed before they started talking amongst themselves. Toad was the first to move to the bars of his cell to get a good look at the new boy in the last cell at the end of the room.

"Yay, an X-man! We're saved!" Toad exclaimed towards Angel. Ryan's eyebrows rose.

"You're one of the X-men?" Ryan asked loudly.

"He's not an X-man." Freddie spoke up groggily from his cell, being clued in enough after the horse tranquilisers to recognise Angel.

"Sure he is!" Toad shouted back to the Blob in the cell next to him as Angel spoke up for the first time. "He hangs out with them!"

"I'm not one of the X-men!" Angel put paint to the matter but closed his eyes at the headache that he just got from talking so loudly.

"What's an X-man?" Jan asked Ryan quietly.

"They're the guys that fought Apocalypse." Ryan informed her through the dividing wall of their cell.

"Humph, some of the guys..." Freddie responded groggily.

"Yeah, we were there too, yo!" Toad protested. Ryan shrugged.

"Sorry." He apologised for hitting a nerve with the Toad.

"Jan?" A girl's voice spoke up from the cell next to Toad's. Jan dropped Ryan's hand immediately to rush to the other side of her cell.

"Zara?!" Jan cried out. She was right before, it was her housemate Zara.

"Jan! What happened? Why are we here?!" She cried out frantically holding on to the bars of her cell, bringing herself as close to Jan as possible from across the way.

"It's okay; it's going to be okay." Jan tried to pacify her from her own cell. "I don't know why we're here except that they're experimenting on us for some reason." That was Jan's best effort of comfort without lying blatantly.

"It's a poison. They're testing a poison designed to kill mutants." Angel spoke up from the back hearing gasps in the cells.

"I can't die!" Toad cried. "I'm too pretty to die!"

No one else could respond however as the door opened once more.

Dr. Natasha walked in with keys to open Angel's cell. She stepped inside without any escort as Angel was still strapped tightly to the board on which he arrived. She looked at him and let her fingers trace over the outline of his feathers on his left wing, she was completely hypnotised by them. He held his head high and strong, not wanting to show any signs of weakness to the mad woman.

"I am sorry they hurt you." She sighed as she looked over the damage and quickly assessed how hard they had hit him. "Some people don't appreciate the art and beauty of genetics and creation." Angel thought this was strange; he spoke to her for the first time.

"Are you feeling sympathy for me, doctor?" He bit out, trying not to move his bruised jaw too much.

"No." She told him dryly. "I am merely disappointed I could not see you in all you're glory. The bruises are very disappointing to look at." She said clinically as she turned away to prepare a needle for him. Angel flexed his jaw pretty sure that he knew what was coming.

She untied one of the straps around the crook of his left elbow and quickly disinfected the area before sticking him with a needle. Instead of injecting him, she attached an empty vial to the needle to suck out the blood she wanted. He was confused.

"You're not going to poison me?" He asked.

"I see no need yet for that, Mr. Worthington." Warren did a double take. She looked up at his surprised expression. "It is obvious that you are related, you can't hide genetics. You and your father are excellent examples of handsome bone structure – although you are taller and have the evolutionary bonus of wings."

"So, you're on my father's payroll?" Warren looked down at the woman.

"I do not do this for money, but your father and Mr. Spears have excellent resources." Something disturbed Warren. Not just her confession of more sinister intents but that she was telling him so much so freely. She clearly didn't think that he, or anyone else, would be leaving this room alive to tell their story.

"If you're going to kill me, shouldn't I at least know your name? You already know mine, and 'Natasha' seems too informal for someone who works for my father." She smiled as she slipped the vial of blood that held his genetic information into her lab coat pocket for her private collection.

"Death is inevitable, Mr. Worthington." She told him as she turned to exit his cell. "You can't use that as a reason to gain information." She locked the heavy lock on the cell door but she looked up at him, void of emotion. "Essex. Dr. Natasha Essex." She turned and signalled to the guards outside to open the door for her to leave her test subjects behind her.

oOo

The glistening white snow and blinding sky almost obscured the view of the floating metal sphere high in the sky until it passed in front of the sun, eclipsing the view and creating an angelic corona around it. Sabretooth paid it no mind, but Caliban watched it float down to the frozen ground. He could sense the power behind it; it felt like a drug.

The sphere opened and retracted on itself to reveal Magneto, his cape swinging and ruffling in the wind and his eyes glowing from the darkness of his helmet. He floated down to stand in front of Caliban.

"Caliban, I have been looking for you." Magneto voiced regally, addressing the man before him.

"Noe, yuu haf bin lookeen four sum won else..." Magneto nodded.

"Where is he?" Caliban looked confused. Magneto elaborated. "The power surge – you must have felt it."

"Eye deed... fellt itt..." Caliban said looking down. "Eye kame heere two get awaay frum itt..."

"Who caused it?" Magneto demanded impatiently.

"Eye cannt tell yuu..." Magneto nodded to Sabretooth who stood up and walked over to the little man and hoisted him up by his layers of clothing at the scruff of his neck. The huskies growled. Caliban was not alarmed by any of it.

"Eye dough not noe the source. Onlee thee airia of oreeginashun..." Caliban said slowly as Magneto leaned in a fraction for the answer. "Thee Staat of Knew Yourk..."

oOo

Gambit ran at top speed to Xavier's room. Considering that Xavier only just set off before he discovered Rogue was missing, he would probably find the old man before he reached his room. He rounded the corner to the hallway where Xavier's room was located and saw the handles and the edges of the wheels of his chair disappear in to the doorway to his room.

"Professeur!" He shouted but got no reply. He continued running to the doorway and almost skidded to a halt outside it. He pushed back the door that was about to swing closed as he heard a noise.

Bamf!

The room before him was empty and had a strong smell of brimstone. Rogue had kidnapped the Professor.

**En****d of Chapter 38**

_A.N. K, let me know what you think; review!!! Gotta go now, it's getting late; but gotta mention again - really loving the reviews!!!!!!! Ye are awesome!!! _

_~Rí _


	39. Chapter 39

**A.N. Hello! Again with the lovely reviews! Ye're so nice! Well this is a marathon of a story, isn't it! Early update this week cause I'm off to climb some mountains (hills really) for the weekend!**** Here's the next part of he story! Enjoy! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 3****9**

"Professeur!" Xavier quickly turned his head at the sound of one of his newest students shouting out his title just as the doors to his room began to swing shut behind him. His fingers automatically flexed to turn his chair but a gloved hand softly descended over his.

Bamf!

A sudden tightness and momentary non-existence overtook him briefly before he re-emerged in total darkness. The gloved hand retracted quickly. His eyes darted from side to side, unable to see anything around him.

"Rogue...?" He called out softly and pacifying, uncertain of the ground on which he stood and who he would be talking to. His fingers once more flexed for the joystick control on his wheelchair. He felt the chair struggle and the motor vibrate but nothing was moving. If anything, he felt like his chair was sinking slightly.

"Rogue?" He called out a little louder this time. His voice carried out but did not echo back. He deducted that he was in a large open space. He stopped and tried to move his chair again. The sound it made, it was like the wheels were trying to turn in deep gravel. Was he outside? He thought he could feel a breeze but he wasn't sure. The air had a slight chill of night, but nothing uncomfortable. He listened for any other clue of his whereabouts. There was a repetitive rhythm of rippling of water just a little bit off to his left.

He shook his head, starting to get frustrated.

"Rog-"

"You're gonna have to let your eyes adjust, Professor." Rogue's southern voiced cracked from disuse. She cleared her throat. "There's no moon tonight..." She was only feet away from him and sounded very much like herself but oddly serene.

"I see..." Xavier looked up into the dark sky and slowly, little dots of light formed above him. The sky was clear and the stars were out taking on the shapes of familiar constellations which, given the time of night, allowed him to judge which way was north. Old habits die hard.

He looked back out left to where the sound of water was coming from, but it was still too dark to make out what it was or where he was. He took a deep breath and waited. He wasn't going to ask her where they were; he would try to let her do the talking.

He heard the sound of stones moving; she was shifting her weight; nervously he assumed but he couldn't sense her telepathically. Not anymore.

"Ah'm not doin' it intentionally..." Rogue told him, interrupting his thoughts with an answer. He frowned and stared into the space in front of him, not being able to see her.

"Not doing what intentionally, Rogue?" Xavier asked soothingly, like he was talking to a high spirited animal trying to tame it.

"Blocking my thoughts." She answered. "Ah guess it's a bonus of blocking out the personalities in my head." Xavier noted the word 'bonus' and not 'side effect' to discuss what she meant later.

"Yes, I imagine you have amassed quite a collection." She ignored this comment. She was bored of the darkness as was he. She wanted to talk to him face to face. Slowly from the darkness, Xavier could make out a pair of white glowing eyes and slowly Rogue was illuminated by a growing sphere of electric light between her now ungloved hands. She threw the ball lightning up in the air above them.

"Amazing..." Xavier's eyes followed it then looked back at Rogue; who was standing before him in her ripped jeans and purple off the shoulders top. Her white eyes were studying the bandages wrapped carefully around her knuckles.

"Not all fuzzy blue thumbs..." She shrugged in a casual reference to her brother's loving care. Xavier couldn't read her but he could tell it meant more to her than she was letting on. She looked out over the water pensively. She didn't sense that he saw through her as she was focussed on something else. The reason she brought him out here alone.

"You didn't bring me out here to talk about thumbs, Rogue." Xavier tried to bring her back from her thoughts.

"No, I didn't." She sighed while still maintaining control of Storm's powers despite the building anger in her chest.

"Is it Jean?" The Professor asked. She wasn't facing him, but he thought he heard her mumble: 'It's always about Jean...' before she faced him again. She nodded in response to his question. He nodded also.

"I imagine while you were in your coma, you spent a lot of time with Jean on the astral plane." Xavier prompted rather than asked, placing his elbows on the arms of his chair and bringing his fingertips together in contemplation. Again Rogue nodded.

"Yeah, both of them." She told him. Xavier flinched but tried to cover it up by resting his chin on his thumbs of his intertwined fingers. She looked at him when he didn't respond. "Two Jeans... Any idea how that coulda happened, Professor?" Rogue kept a cool exterior but one eyebrow raised was her tell, which was more pronounced given the lightning white eyes.

He wondered how much she knew. Xavier recalled the moment when they accidentally touched in Cerebro and how she reacted to his powers and thoughts and how agitated she was in the hangar before they left for Rochester. But he wanted to know. He knew enough to know that she wasn't using her telepathy at the moment while she was using Storm's powers. He didn't wanted to confess to anything she didn't already know. He reached out with his mind.

"Before you left for Rochester, you said that we needed to talk when you got back." He prompted as he tried his best to get a glimpse of what she was thinking.

"And now Ah'm back..." She said quietly as if lost in her own thoughts, but quickly frowned like a sudden headache had come upon her. She squeezed her brilliant eyes shut tight. "Mostly..."

Xavier only had enough time to frown before the ball of lightning above them extinguished and they were plunged into darkness once more. Suddenly Xavier felt his chair jerk backwards with ripples of telekinetic energy extending outwards from Rogue.

"Rogue! What are you doing?!" He looked up to where she should be, approximately, and saw her pale green eyes looking back at him from the darkness. Around her left eye, shining as bright as flames was the tattoo of a phoenix.

"Rogue!!" Xavier shouted as he felt the shockwaves of another burst of energy from her. He could see in her eyes that she was tormented, trying to control something bigger than her. He silently cursed his idiocy to try and read a mind that was unreadable, especially considering the girl had only just woken from a coma. Not one of his best decisions from his many bad decisions in the last few days.

"Aagh!" She shouted and squeezed her eyes shut again. She fell to her knees, her eye level lower than his. She gripped her head and tucked into herself. The world around them slowly began to become illuminated as bright flames grew outwards from her skin. He was helpless to do anything but watch her struggle.

"No!" She screamed and flew up into the air high above him glowing like she was on fire. He watched the supernova before him as the flames morphed into the shape of a bird like he had seen happening to Jean in his visions from Apocalypse. It was all happening, just not in the way he had imagined.

Snikt! Snikt!

Definitely not the way he had imagined; Rogue's bone claws ripped through her bandages on her knuckles. Rogue screamed as the bird burst outwards, creating a day within a night momentarily before the flames scattered and she fell back down to the ground with a hard thud, scattering stones in every direction as the light dimmed and darkened.

"Rogue!" Xavier shouted, trying to rock his chair free of the stones to get to her but to no avail. He grew more frustrated at the silence. "Rogue!" He called out to her.

"Ah'm okay..." She assured him, with a pained groan in her tone.

Un-snikt! Un-snikt!

He heard her retract her claws, which was followed by the sound of cracking joints going back in place, healing after the fall.

"Rogue, forgive me. I shouldn't have-" He began to apologise as calmly as possible to the void, finding it hard not to feel shaken after the display.

"Ah'm fine, Professor. Really." She assured him. He heard her footsteps growing fainter on the stones and stopping a bit away. "Sorry, you had to see that but you upset someone." She called back to him and tapped her temple and even though he didn't see her, he had a good idea what 'someone' she meant after a power display like that one. "It was easier to release her energy than to keep it in." Xavier nodded, but then assumed she couldn't see him if he couldn't see her.

"Yes, Rogue. I'm beginning to understand your way of thinking. Sometimes, having control includes knowing when to lose control..." He said mostly to himself.

He heard her footsteps approaching him again. There was a clatter of a few heavy things falling just in front of him shortly after. What had she dropped?

Flick! Flick! Floom!

Rogue had taken out a lighter and flicked it a few times before life came to it. He could see what was between them now; a small pile of logs. Rogue squinted at the flame for a quick second before it jumped from the lighter to the logs, starting a little camp fire on the stony ground. He could see clearly her now; her clothes were a little scuffed from the fall but she looked otherwise unharmed.

Xavier studied Rogue as she put away the lighter and any other powers for the near future. She started to pace on her side of the dividing line, tugging off the torn bandages roughly from her hands.

She seemed to fluctuate so much around him. One minute she is calm and understanding and other times, like now, she was agitated around him. However, given what she had probably seen in his mind the other day when they accidentally touched in Cerebro, he wonders why she is not angry with him all of the time.

Truth be told, Rogue had been acting strangely ever since her return to the Institute. The brief conversation with Logan clarified matters some but he still didn't understand why she felt the need to hide her abilities from him. Did she not trust him?

Rogue quickly looked up at the man.

Alright then, she didn't trust him and was also still using his powers on him, ironically.

Xavier couldn't say that her lack of trust didn't give him an ache in his heart. Rogue rolled her eyes at his self pity.

"Ah trust you, Professor," She assured him but hesitated before adding, "But Ah don't trust your judgement." Saying it out loud and to his face, she at least sounded ashamed and apologetic about it but the trace of guilt in her voice told him that she had been thinking this for a while now. He had the decency to admit however, that he couldn't agree with her more. After a brief silence, Xavier spoke up once more with a question he didn't really want to ask for her feared he knew the answer.

"Why was Jean upset?" He asked Rogue, referring to her display for telekinetic power a few moments ago.

"Because she knows..." Xavier's studying frown turned into a surprised one. He didn't know what to say. He tried to pretend that he didn't know exactly what she meant. He couldn't look her in the eye as he tried to plead ignorance.

"Rogue, I-" She sniffed loudly; he stopped at the sound realising that her shoulders were shaking slightly like Jean when she's trying not to cry. He decided to let her talk.

"She-Ah, Ah know... Ah know everything!" Rogue cried out, conveying her point obscurely to the man. Rogue tried to piece things together for herself as she was talking. Xavier began to understand what Rogue was figuring out and tried to plead his case to her.

"Rogue, I was helping her. If you only saw what I saw-" He started but she needed to retort at this point.

"Ah did see it!" She yelled across the fire to him but checked herself before saying more than she wanted to. She took a calming breath. "Before you were helping her but ever since Apocalypse you've been tryin' to control her!" Rogue accused him.

"I've been trying to save her, to save all of us!" Xavier felt himself becoming less controlled as the heated discussion started to ignite like a runaway reaction.

"For well over a year now, you've been buildin' on the mental blocks you put in place to protect her when her power first got outta hand, and since Apocalypse – instead of slowly liftin' 'em like you had intended, you reinforced them! That wasn't protectin' Jean! That was you tryin' to protect yourself!" She yelled at him unapologetically, regaining all of her feisty nature. "You were so paralysed at the thought of her fulfillin' that vision you never checked yourself or stopped to ask if you were goin' too far." She let him digest what she had said to give a fair chance for a response but he answered faster than he should have.

"I assessed the risks; the mental blocks created much needed stability-" Rogue had to cut him off again.

"Those mental blocks, they're the reason she is so unstable! Cutting off her powers from herself only served to split her into two different people; two extremes of Jean." Rogue explained never ceasing her pacing. "That power you just saw from me; that was what Jean was supposed to be like – one person controlling her own power. But because of what you did, you turned her into a volatile, tickin' time bomb just itching for an excuse to explode in your face." The look on Xavier's face was all she needed to know that they understood each other. He started to recall fragments of his sessions from Jean that proved Rogue's point.

"At the time, I was certain I had simply isolated Jean from the required knowledge to use the extra power that she had – except in case of emergency of course. But now I see how the blocks could lead to a separate personality forming amid those powers..." Rogue nodded, glad that he was saying it out loud at last; admitting his grave errors and assumptions. She knew she had hit it home for him, and she didn't want to rub it in but she was still in need of venting.

"Jean was bein' corrupted by herself, her darker side; the side that you split and locked away." She told him quietly over the crackling of the fire. "Those people in Rochester, everything that happened..." Rogue grew tired and choked on her own voice remembering the carnage though lacking in fatalities thankfully. She came back to her point. "To force Jean to spend her like cut off from learnin' the potential of her powers, walkin' around not knowin' what she was capable of? She was gonna hurt someone eventually, and she did." Xavier's brow furrowed as they both remembered the images of Duncan Matthews. "If Ah didn't stop her, she would've killed him. And, yeah, okay, Ah stabbed her to stop her; but killin' someone? That would have destroyed her..."

The two just listened to the sound of the fire between, taking everything in. It was a long while before either of them spoke but Rogue had to tell him one more thing. She had to tell him exactly what she meant when she said that Jean knew.

"That side, the 'Phoenix'?" Xavier looked across to her understanding the name as Jean's alter ego; it was fitting. "She had access to everything. She was unconsciously leeching this information from you from session one. That side of Jean has every right to hate you. And if Jean ever wakes up, the Phoenix isn't gonna stay quiet for long." Xavier looked at her sadly.

"And how did you find out about all of this?" Xavier sighed, assuming that now was probably not the best time to be focussing on Rogue. It didn't matter, however, as she just deflected his question.

"It doesn't matter how I knew, but I knew before she did, before I accidentally touched you in Cerebro." He went back to looking ashamed of himself as she veered towards the underlining point. "Believe me, Professor; I understand why you did it. You were scared of what you saw, what she could become. At the time you knew she wasn't ready. You did what you had to do, what you thought was the right thing to do at the time." Xavier nodded, appreciating her understanding on the matter. But that didn't change what was going to happen when Jean found out what he did, how someone she loved so much could hurt her so much.

"She won't understand..." Rogue told him as his thoughts drifted. He reflected back to when he made the decision to do what he did.

_It was a month post Apocalypse and he had just disconnected from Cerebro; checking on Jean's mental blocks unbeknownst to her while she was at home with her family. He was drained and physically exhausted from the now daily exercise of using Cerebro __in such a way. He returned to his office and to behind his desk. He tried not to reflect on the private moment he glimpsed in her life, but he had already broke her trust by placing mental blocks in her mind without her consent. He had picked up on a happy moment in Jean's life. She was celebrating with her family. She had just gotten a letter in the mail..._

_He reflected on her news and tried to picture the future it meant for her but he couldn't stop the visions from Apocalypse ruining the happy moment, forcing him to act. He took out pen and paper and started writing immediately to an old friend who would ensure confidentiality; 'To the Dean of Admissions...'_

He snapped out of his day dream to see Rogue had seen it all before in his mind. She just slowly shook her head from side to side as she sadly finished what she had to say to the old man.

"Jean won't understand why you sent that letter to Cornell..."

**En****d of Chapter 39**

**A.N. Oooh! **

**Review!**

**~Rí**


	40. Chapter 40

**A.N. Hi, sorry this took a bit longer than usual but here it is (drum roll please) Chapter 40!!!! Woot! Thank you to everyone for reading and for leaving me reviews - I love the feedback! I'll keep writin' if ye keep readin'!**** Go raibh maith agaibh! So here's some more to keep ye going another while - hope you like it! Enjoy! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 40**

The sun rose again. The sky in the east brightened slowly. The world around them started to reawaken. In the light of dawn, things were clearer.

oOo

The world was a bright red. Her mouth was dry and tasted awful. She frowned and twitched and felt her arm under her cheek, cutting off circulation from her elbow to her hand. The ground under the rest of her body was cold and hard. It felt like concrete on her skin... on all of her skin?

She opened her eyes very quickly and immediately regretted the decision as her cornea burned from the stream of sunlight that came through at exactly the right angle to fall on her face from the tiny window to the world. She tried to push herself up off the ground and failed miserably as her numb arm gave out under her. Fortunately she caught herself with the other arm before she hurt herself. She moved to a shaded area and immediately noticed a definite lack of clothing about her.

Before she could express her surprise at the situation there was movement and the sound of breathing behind her. She spun around and scrambled back to the nearest wall to her; an attempt to save whatever dignity she could. Her eyes adjusted to the light and focussed on... bars?

She looked through the bars and saw a girl of her own age asleep on a little chair, her head lolled back against the wall.

"Jubilee...?" The girl jerked awake and her head sleepily moved side to side and she completed the process of waking up. Rahne rolled her eyes. "Jubs!" Rahne half shouted, half whispered from her cage. Jubilee snapped fully alert and looked straight at her.

"Rahne!" She shouted out her name with a smile. Rahne didn't waste time smiling back as she had more urgent thoughts occupying her mind.

"Clothes, please?" Rahne asked, indicating with a nod to her clothes on Jubilee's lap. Jubilee jumped up from the chair.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, still smiling broadly that her friend had transformed back and woken up sounding just like her old self. Rahne frowned at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Cold." Rahne told her pointedly in a deadpan voice. Jubilee looked a little confused and then looked to the clothes clutched in her hands. The penny dropped.

"Oh, sorry!" Jubilee responded bashfully, quickly handing Rahne the clothes through the bars in the cage. She turned her back to give her friend some privacy while she got dressed.

oOo

He took the phone away from his ear, having had to listen to yet another voicemail on his cell. He was agitated and angry. The way she sounded; disappointed but not surprised. It was a familiar tone he had heard most of his life but he hated hearing it from her. Hadn't he done enough to prove that he was good enough for her? Even this, getting himself a legitimate job!

Well, as legitimate as it appeared. Lance looked out the door towards Ms. Dion, who was on a phone call of her own out beyond where the other security and body guards were standing around. He then turned and looked over at Pietro, who was surfing the net furiously out of boredom on his laptop.

"I don't know what this guy's problem is, but he is taking way too long!" Lance put the phone back in his pocket and answered Pietro.

"Too long? Do you know what he's working on?" Lance asked, slightly annoyed that he appeared to be left out of the loop.

"No, but I breezed past him and had a look earlier." Pietro spotted the question on Lance's face and rolled his eyes. "When you were trying to figure out how to use the voicemail function on those new phones that Myst- ah, Ms. Dion got for us." Pietro quickly recovered from his near slip conscious of the guys in the next room and the door open. Pietro frowned at Lance. "Which took you forever, by the way!"

"Hey, it took me two seconds!" Lance objected indignantly to the speedster.

"Too long!" Pietro sang out like a child as he went back to rapidly typing on the laptop.

"Shut it, Pietro! To you everything takes too long." Lance told him turning away from him, clearly irritated as well as agitated from Kitty's voicemail that she had left him a few days ago. He leaned one arm above on the door frame to the living area looking out as he saw a smile grace Mystique's lips while she continued to talk on the phone. This expression wasn't one of a pleasant conversation; it was a crafty, devilish smile that made Lance nervous.

"So, you don't want to know what I saw?" Pietro asked like a child, teasingly withholding information, enjoying the power over Lance. But Lance ignored him and took pleasure in the few moments of silence he got before Pietro gave in. Lance smiled when he heard Pietro huff; a few moments silence to Lance is 'forever' for Pietro.

"Fine! What the boss lady isn't telling us is that that little dweeb up there is working on building something from some designs on his desk." Pietro told Lance in a lowered voice, to which Lance raised his eyebrows looking for the punch line.

"...And?" Lance asked expectantly.

"And what?" Pietro responded pretending to be a little taken aback by how Lance didn't appreciate the information.

"What were the designs of?" Lance whispered loudly back to him.

"How should I know?!" Pietro continue to play dumb as Lance rolled his eyes once more and brought his attention back to Mystique who was looking very pleased about something and was walking toward them but still talking to someone on the phone. Lance tensed. Pietro noticed and suddenly he was just next to Lance's shoulder and saw Mystique heading for them. Just before Mystique was within ear shot, Pietro decided he was out of time for messing and quickly talked into Lance's ear. "But the thing he was making strongly resembled the head gear from that Cerebro thing those X-freaks have..."

By the time Lance had spun his head in shock towards Pietro, he was already gone and sitting back with his laptop looking as if he had said nothing. Lance didn't even have time to react before 'Ms. Dion' had reached the door.

"... we need him and we need to capitalise on this; if Xavier and my daughter are absent from your charming new home then now is the time to act!" She quickly hung up the phone and stood before the two of them. "Your break is over..."

Lance's phone vibrated silently in his hand. He discretely looked at the screen as Ms. Dion closed the door behind her and began to transform back to Mystique.

'You have one new voicemail from Kitty...'

oOo

The shadow cat emerged from her room after a not so restful night sleep. She put away her cell phone having just left Lance yet another message.

She needed to find out for herself if he was up to something or if this job was really honest work. She had mixed feelings on the subject. Her instincts told her something was up but her head wanted it to be just a job. However, her heart was completely undecided.

She and Lance had had a rough start but his actions wore her down over time. True, he had had his moments of insane stupidity but they never completely erased his moments of kindness and sweetness towards her. He had saved her life on more than one occasion, and she could admit to herself that she did have feelings for him.

On the other hand, a small part of her was hoping for him to do something stupid so she could just write him off once and for all because every time she thought of Lance, it wasn't long before her thoughts ran towards that flutter she felt every time she thought of a certain Russian team member. If Lance was up to something, it would make everything easier.

She walked thought the door silently and saw the back of someone down the hall; someone she didn't expect to see in the girl's dormitory.

"Gambit?" She called out to him. He turned quickly at her voice and tucked something behind him. She guessed a cell phone or something small but couldn't tell from that distance; but she would bet anything that he was up to something.

"Bonjour, petite." He said covering his surprise well but not his shifty expression as she walked towards him, noticing the door to Rogue's room slightly ajar behind him. She nodded staring at the door.

"Right..." She looked from him to the door pointedly; he got the message.

"I was jus' lookin' fo' Rogue." He informed her innocently as he reached out behind him to close the door.

"I would start by looking for her in the hospital bed where she's been for the last few days?" Kitty suggested with her voice laced with sarcasm and a raised eyebrow. Gambit's red eyes didn't budge from her as he informed her on what she had missed while she was sleeping.

"Rogue woke up, 'n' now she's gone." He informed Kitty, which caused the second eyebrow to go up and delete the sarcasm from her expression. Gambit moved and walked past her. When he was a bit down the hall he called back to her as he headed for the stairs around the corner. "Oh, and de Professeur is missing too – Rogue took him." Kitty's face went to full blown shock as she watched Gambit leave. As soon as he disappeared around the corner she snapped out of it.

"Omigod, like, are you serious?!" She called out to him; then realised she had legs so she ran after him for more information. But as soon as she rounded the corner, he was gone.

Kitty paused and looked around for him, but couldn't find any trace of the shifty thief. Hmm, thief...

She put her finger to her chin as she started to wonder what he was up to in Rogue's room just now. She turned back and went to Rogue's door. She tried to turn the handle – but it was locked. That was odd, he had had it open just a minute ago. Thinking of the skills he had probably amassed as a thief, she convinced that that 'up-to-no-good' look that she had just caught was there for a reason.

She phased through the door and found Rogue's room to look as normal as ever. The bed sheets were tossed back in a Rogue-ish fashion (it took a former roommate to know), and nothing was out of place from what she could remember of being in Rogue's room before. She took a good look around the room for anything strange and on closer inspection of the bed she saw that the mattress had been ripped up on two spots; on the middle left and the middle right – both torn in triplicate. Kitty suddenly thought back to Rochester, to seeing Jean's stab wounds by Rogue's hand. She shuddered and stepped back from the bed.

"Icksome..." She whispered under her breath.

She looked around the room once more and could see anything else odd, but she couldn't shake the image of Gambit tucking something away that he didn't want her to see. She was sure it was a cell phone but why would he hide that unless he was guilty of something?

Regardless, the Professor and Rogue were missing. Ironically, their mutant tracking device – not counting Logan; like, that guy is like a bloodhound – was operated by the missing mutant. So, unless Forge could come up with something else that they could use, this wasn't going to be easy...

oOo

Forge was up early, or late; depending on how you looked at it. He had spent half the night making the finishing touches to Cerebro so the Professor could try it out in the morning. He had slid under the console on his stomach reaching in for some wires that he couldn't access any other way. Just as he connected the last parts, the machine came alive above him.

"Yes! Awesome!" Forge exclaimed as he started to tie off everything he had been using into neat little bundles of wire so that if he had to do this job again (which, knowing this place, was a certainty) it would go faster.

He used his last cable tie and could have finished there and then but if he let go of the wires he had in his right hand it would be an age before he would find them again. No, he'd tie them off now and be done with it. He reached back with his left hand along the ground for the bag of cable ties behind him on the floor but couldn't reach it without letting go. He stretched but his fingers just grazed the bag without grip.

He sighed in frustration and turned his body awkwardly to get a better look at how far away the bag was from him to see if he could do anything about it. Fortunately he saw the shadow of someone's feet standing next to the bag. He didn't hear them come in but their timing was impeccable.

"Oh, excellent timing! Could you pass me in one last cable tie from the bag, please?" Forge asked the person and turned back to the wires he was holding. But all of a sudden, Forge realised that person wasn't there to help him...

oOo

_He snapped out of his day dream to see Rogue had seen it all and just slowly shook her head from side to side as she sadly finished what she had to say to the old man._

"_Jean won't understand why you sent that letter to Cornell..."_

The sun was higher in the sky now. They had been out there for a while talking about the same issue back and forth until they were both exhausted. Xavier was talking to Rogue but he stared low in front of him, suggesting it was more likely that he was talking to himself.

"I had to keep her close. You saw the strain it was to use Cerebro to keep her powers at bay." He told her, reflecting back on the strain it took to keep the barriers in place using Cerebro. "I thought I could help her here..." His voice diminished as he thought over his actions.

"You got her rejected from college to keep her close." Rogue reminded him, her arms crossed in the morning life. She looked out over the lake as she talked. These things were harder to say to the person's face. "You went that far, and even that wasn't enough for you." She added, thinking back to what the institute was like since she and Logan returned from Alberta. "You barely left her leave the mansion..." He knew what she meant. He purposely held her back from missions since Apocalypse.

"Forgive me, Rogue. I wanted to keep her out of situations where she would be tempted to use her powers." He looked disappointed; disappointed in what he had done, but also at the situation he had found himself in. Life had thrown him a curve ball and even though he knew the rules and had the skill, he had forgotten that he had a team behind him that he was supposed to trust to have his back, but he didn't want to have to depend on them. It was supposed to work the other way around. He was the parent here; it was his job to protect them from these things.

She had her back turned to him and despite herself, she smiled. Literally despite herself and her emotions because she didn't smile; Jean smiled. She sighed, frustrated. Anytime she used telepathy, that fondness between Xavier and Jean crept its way to the forefront of her mind. It was really annoying and on some level, it upset her. She did love the man like her own father, but that rapport and those feelings weren't between her and Xavier – they were between Jean and Xavier.

But that was the old Jean, before Apocalypse and before she had been tampered with. That was a copy of Jean from when her psyche was more or less stable and friendly. Rogue didn't touch Jean in Rochester because she didn't want to risk having the current version of Jean dancing around in her head amid the collection. Who knows what kind of damage that could do; what it could unleash.

Xavier was starting to come out of his own thoughts. After months of being lost and consumed with thoughts of the future, he finally began to focus on the present. His head quickly looked up to Rogue.

"How far are we from the mansion? Jean might-" He started to worry. Rogue interrupted him with a smile.

"She won't wake up while were gone." Rogue said, distractedly rubbing her knuckles as she thought about inflicting the stab wound to Jean's side in Rochester. She came back to the moment. "But if she did, what would you do?" She folded her arms as she turned to the man with one eyebrow raised in anticipation of his answer. He nodded and sighed.

"Trust my X-men..." He said, like a child finally growing up and learning from his mistakes. Rogue's face relaxed to a slight smile, satisfied that she had achieved something.

Kra-ka BOOM!

Rogue jumped a little. The sound of thunder echoed around them with a flash in the distance. She spun in its direction in the west, to where the flashes stuck out from the dark side of the sky. Xavier looked in that direction too, and then looked back to Rogue who saw the question on his face. She shrugged in answer.

"Wasn't me." She answered quickly; the tone of her response coupled by her shrugging her shoulders caused the dynamic of their relationship to fall back to the norm for their ages - the adult and the teen. Xavier silently cursed as he realised the source of the thunderhead.

"Ororo..." He whispered to himself, recalling how he sensed her distress earlier about Evan. Rogue got everything she needed to know from Xavier about the situation.

"Berserker can handle it." She told him, reminding him not to micro-manage everything that was going on.

"Yes, I know. But I should have taken the time to tell Ororo myself."

"Maybe, but you didn't." Rogue said a little more gruffly than her normal voice, reminding Xavier of Logan. With Logan out on a mission, Rogue was the next closest thing to his old friend who always offered honest advice on these situations. "Ororo's not gonna care who told her; all she cares about is Evan." Xavier nodded, and started to wonder if Ray would be able to take care of things and whether he had gotten to her in time.

"Oh, he didn't?!" Rogue asked loudly in disbelief looking straight at Xavier. A mix of annoyance and anger crossed her and Xavier could have sworn he heard her growl.

Xavier shook his head, indicating to her that he didn't follow.

"He took my bike?!" Rogue growled out angrily.

Snikt! Snikt!

Rogue popped her claws, channelling Logan's insanely territorial feelings towards her pride and joy motor. As quickly as she got fired up, she began to see that it wasn't the end of the world and retracted her claws.

Un-snikt! Un-snikt!

She sighed as she walked towards him and this time Xavier definitely heard her growl. She went to stand behind his chair and placed her hands around the handles as the wounds between her knuckles closed up.

"When they get back," She said slowly through gritted teeth behind him, "'Battery-Boy' is dead!" She finished her outburst and breathed to channel another mutant so they could go home and see what drama awaited them.

Bamf!

**En****d of Chapter 40**

_A.N. Drama indeed! Don't worry the story isn't over yet; but while I'm typin up the next one - please share your thoughts and review! I love hearing from everyone so review away, even if it's just to tell me to hurry up! It's nice to feel in demand!!! _

_Stay tuned for more Snikt!s and Un-snikt!s!!!_

_~Rí_


	41. Chapter 41

**A.N. Hiya, what's the story! Thanks for the hits and the reviews! Remember, I'll keep writin' if ye keep readin'!**** Enjoy! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 41**

_A few hours __Earlier..._

The bike screeched and skidded sideways to a halt just before a brick wall and came to a rest perfectly parallel with the obstacle just under the street light. The engine was still vibrating and ramping down when the rider was already off it and zapping the manhole cover on the street causing it to pop off and hit the ground next to it with a clang.

Ray through caution to the wind and jumped straight down the unknown depth. He stretched out his limbs as he descended; he felt the roughness of the walls almost ripping his sneakers off with force and they fought his weight by gravity. One hand found the vertical ladder as he fell with style and guided himself along the metal. The other hand reached out to the unknown, sparking up to light the way.

He hit the ground with a splash and kept his sparked up hand high enough out of the water so he wouldn't short out; he had learned that that was his weakness and that it did not feel good. Funny that it was Ororo who had taught him that particular lesson when she was fighting for Apocalypse.

He quickly moved to the edge of the water and up onto the lip of surface that skirted the side walls trying very hard not to think about how badly he had ruined his sneakers as they squelched with every step.

He went along quietly thinking that the weather-witch was too upset to be quiet. The thunderheads that he followed did not suggest subtlety. He stopped and listened for sounds of life hoping to find Ororo or Evan before she found him. In the dark, an echo carried out as he crept along. It started strong and at first was easy to follow. But very quickly, her voice diminished. It didn't go further away, it just got quieter.

oOo

_A few minutes earlier again..._

"Evan!" Ororo shouted as she floated down to the sewer level and landed neatly on dry ground. Despite her grace and poise, she was extremely angry. She wasn't angry with Evan, well, she was but she was only angry because he had lied to her... repeatedly.

_She could hear the crushing water behind him and could just make him out from the shadows._

"_I'm here." She heard behind her as she searched for him. She turned to the sound of his voice._

"_Evan!" She exclaimed and rushed forward to him. He put his hands up to warn away._

_She moved to get closer to him. "Wait! Stay back! I'm... I'm going through some__... changes..."_

"_That doesn't matter. Let me take you home." She couldn't see what he saw. He was her nephew. She loved him like he was her own son._

"_No. Not right now..." He turned to walk away from her. "I just gotta take a break. Everything's so crazy right now..." He shook his head, struggling to find the right words._

"_But we can help you through this?" Ororo gently pleaded with him._

"_Please don't worry about me, or look for me." She heard a sadness in his voice; not for him but for her. "I'm with friends." He turned to walk into the mist with the waiting Morlocks. Without turning to face her: "Goodbye, Auntie-O." _

"_Wait! Evan, don't go!" She ran forwards, but he was gone..._

"Evan!" She called out to the sewers and just heard her own voice back to her, hearing her desperation in the echoes. She began to lose the light from the grids and manholes from the streets above as she walked strongly forward deeper in to the labyrinth. She reached out to let her hand skim the surface of the walls to guide her...

_She pl__aced a hand on his spiky shoulder._

"_Evan, please... You don't have to go back with them," She pleaded, "Return to the Institute." He moved__ forward and her hand fell away as he put space between them._

"_Sorry, Auntie-O. But this," He picked up the remains of the weapon that was fired upon him, "This isn't over. And you guys don't need me, not like they do." He gestured to the Morlocks entering the manhole back to their home._

"_Then... just know that I am proud of you." She told him warmly. He acknowledged the sentiment with a small and brief grin as he descended into the sewers._

She found it difficult to stay mad at him when she remembered moments like that. He wasn't a child anymore, he was a man. And a good man at that.

He thought he could do more good here than on the surface, and he did. He was stubborn, as stubborn as she was. But they had both seemed to have found their place in the world. She was proud of him. The way he cared about people; he had a power and chose to spend that power protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.

She began to think about what Ray had told her. Evan had been living with being poisoned for over a year now. She couldn't understand why he would hide that? Had he know from the start? She began to think about when he joined the Morlocks again, that very first night. He asked her not to try to find him. Did he know then? She thought he had turned his back on her, but was he just trying to protect her. Her heart began to beat faster with worry. Did he think he was dying, that it would be easier on her and on his parents if everyone had thought that he had just run off? It broke her heart to think like that. Why didn't he come to her? He was there for her when she needed him most; he saved her from the Hung Dan and tried to save her from Apocalypse despite the odds against him...

"_Storm, please!"__ Spyke cried up to her, high in the sky. "Let us help you!" The irony of the situation was not lost on her but it wasn't relevant to her task. She had to protect the pyramid, no matter what the cost. She let the heavens open and pummelled Spyke, Iceman, Berserker and the Beast with boulders of ice..._

She shuttered at the thought of that dark place, and how easily she was seduced by it. She started to feel cold as she continued walking through the sewers, taking shorter strides as she began to wonder if she would ever find Evan down here, deep underground in these dark and damp narrow sewers...

Her heart rate suddenly became audible to her and the air seemed thinner. Her steps turned to baby steps, but then soon stopped altogether. Her eyes opened wide to take in as much light as possible, but there was none to be found. She pivoted trying to find where she came from but her feet felt like they were stuck to the ground, frozen in place. She started to panic.

oOo

"EVAN!" He heard her scream. Ray's heart jumped into his mouth. That wasn't the sound of his angry mentor; that was the sound of his terrified friend. Ray sprinted in its direction and soon crashed into someone else responding to the sound.

"Watch it!" She shouted at him as they both kept running as they recovered from the stumble. Marrow cast a sideways look at him and his glowing, electrified hand as she ran alongside him. "What are you doing back here again?!" She asked through gritted teeth as they went towards the sound of the woman. Ray answered mechanically.

"I followed someone here." Marrow gave him a quizzical look without breaking stride and faced forward again.

"Spyke is top side." She quickly informed him that he was wasting his time.

"I wasn't following Spyke, I was following his Aunt." Marrow had heard stories of Spyke's formidable relation. She could command the weather and was one of Apocalypse's horsemen, and something was making her scream?

Marrow reached behind her back for a bladed bone to use as a weapon if needed and sped up. Faster and more nimble than Ray, she soon overtook him, not even needing him to light the way for her as she could follow a different light.

oOo

She started to feel constricted, like she would never breathe again. She couldn't see around her anymore. She had lit up the chamber so bright with electricity that it was blinding. Bolts of energy sparked all around her in her frantic state. Everything from her mind had been wiped. She forgot why she was there, who she was looking for, what she had been doing; all she could think of now was how to stop the walls from caving in on her.

Energy exploded outwards from her and she faintly heard someone scream...

oOo

"Agh!" Marrow yelled as she was sent flying back just barely missing Ray when she was struck by a blast of energy of the panicking Storm. She hit the wall with a crack, undoubtedly damaging some of her bone armour. It hurt like hell, but with her mutation she was forced to live with pain daily.

"Are you okay?!" Ray asked her, looking from her to Ororo as the footsteps of more Morlocks were heard behind them.

"I'm fine!" She bit out as the pushed herself up and took a weakened fighting stance. Ray looked back to Storm, who he could barely see through the dancing web of electric bolts bouncing around the chamber she was frozen in.

"What the hell is going on, Ray!" Callisto called out from behind him, shielding her sensitive... eye from the weather witch's display. Ray turned to her, seeing the rest of the Morlocks hiding behind her.

"Storm came down here looking for Spyke!" He shouted back over the thunderous sounds coming from the chamber. "I followed her!" Callisto came closer to him, gesturing for the others to stay back.

"That explains why you're here, but what's her problem!" She yelled out, getting close enough to Marrow to grab her arm in time to stop her from trying to get close to Storm again. Marrow was just like Spkye; they both had the same look when they were about to do something stupid.

"She's claustrophobic! She's freaking out down here!" Ray pointed out, as if it was plain as day. What he failed to take into account was that Spyke rarely talked about his life before the Morlocks, or the fact that his extremely powerful Aunt was afraid of tight spaces.

"She's in the biggest chamber..." Marrow mumbled petulantly to herself but intentionally loud, however, it wasn't loud enough to be heard by anyone given the drama that was going on.

"We can't just leave her there!" Callisto exclaimed to Ray. Ray stepped in front of Marrow.

"Keep everyone back!" He told Callisto and Marrow over his shoulder. Callisto reached out to his shoulder.

"No, I can-" She tried to offer her help but he cut her off.

"No, Callisto!" He stopped her. "You can't! I won't let you!"

"Let me?!" She exclaimed at the authority in his voice. She was about to add to that but he got close enough to her so that only she would hear what he said next.

"After you told us about the poison? No, I won't let you!" He told her with finality. She gave him an angry look before relenting.

"Fine!" She hated that he brought up the poison, and she hated being told what she could and couldn't do, especially on her own turf. He was talking to her just like Spyke would. But Ray, unlike Spyke, hadn't been poisoned last year by Spear Sports so she'd give him that. If he thought that he could get to Ororo before she caused a collapse, then she would let him.

Ray sparked up as he walked on dry ground and entered the Tesla web...

oOo

She tried to think, tried to get her bearings to figure out what to do, but was getting distracted by remembering to breathe and the blinding fear that came with it. The only sensory information she was able to take in was the wall that one of her hands was pushing on. She felt like if she let go, it would fall. She wouldn't let go. On blind instinct her powers were throwing everything she had outwards from her and that too felt like the only thing that would stop the world from crushing her.

She felt something push against her hand, or rather, something pulling her hand away from the wall.

"No!" She screamed, thinking the wall would surely fall. But the person didn't listen and yanked her hand away. Her power amplified against the intruder causing him to let her go. She scrambled back to find the wall again but was yanked backwards into another wall, a warm wall.

"'Ro!" Someone called out her nickname and a shred of reality came back to her with the familiar tone. The warm wall was someone holding her tightly from behind. "Ororo!" He shouted louder into her ear. She turned her head at her name and she could feel the urgency lessen in this person which caused her to relax in turn. The concentration of lighting dancing around them diminished with each heart beat. Whoever it was behind her, they sounded out of breath, his heart rate matching her own. "Ororo? I mean... Miss Munroe?!" He called her, now hopeful that she was coming back to her senses. Of course, as the lightning slowly faded, his reasons for holding her tightly also went away. "Uhm, Storm...?" He asked, grateful that she couldn't see the slight blush that had come to his face.

"Ray?" Storm asked sounding confused. Ray nodded.

"Let's get you out of here." He sounded quite winded from whatever had happened before, but she was still quite aware that she was in a tight space as lightning kept sparking around her. Ray moved her quickly to the nearest exit to the street. Surprisingly strong, he helped her climb the short distance to the surface, supporting most of her weight alongside her through the tight squeeze, and zapping off the manhole before they reached it. She saw the faint light of dawn and quickly recognising the outside world, she scrambled to the surface and was up on the street before she even realised what had just happened.

Thunderheads were forming overhead even as she was calming down. The street they were on was quiet and void of people. The street lights were flickering on and off; confused by the light of dawn and the darkness clouding over quickly. Ray crawled out of the manhole followed by Marrow and Callisto.

Ororo was still recovering as a few more lightning bolts struck the ground around them. One lightning bolt struck Ray, who was already sparking off energy from being supercharged. The bolt went through him and after an initial and extreme discomfort he absorbed the energy safely away from the others.

Ororo watched this happen. Concern for her student and those around her sobered her quickly. She came to her senses and looked up the massive thunderheads she had created. She stood and opened her arms up to the heavens generating a strong wind to lift her from the ground. The others watched as she quickly soared high up into the sky to dissipate the mess she had created.

The air circulating around her made her feel free and safe again. The wind dried the cold tears on her cheeks and made them disappear. Her eyes sparked white as she regained full control over the weather in the vicinity. The potential energy stored up in the clouds discharged in sheet lightning, not touching the ground as the rolling thunder echoed for miles. The sky went from dark to slowly letting the light of dawn through the streets below. She floated back down to the ground as herself, not someone who lost it when confronted with tight spaces. She touched down on the ground and was met with two annoyed faces and an overcharged Ray.

"I'm-" She tried to apologise for the trouble she had caused them but was interrupted by a new face to the mix.

"Auntie-O?!" She spun in the direction of his voice to see Evan standing behind her, with wooden spikes in his hand glowing hot, ready for trouble.

"Evan!" She exclaimed, quickly looking at his fighting stance. "It's okay, everything's fine." He relaxed enough for the spikes to cool down but didn't relax fully until someone would fill in the blanks for him.

"What's going on?" Ray was about to speak up but was finding it difficult while dealing with the voltage over load, but Ororo was the one to answer him.

"I came here looking for you, but I was disoriented in the sewers and panicked." She informed him and turned to Callisto, the matriarch of their society. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you and yours. I just wanted to speak to my nephew." Callisto nodded, maintaining her poker face of reluctant acceptance, however, underneath her icy exterior she was secretly hoping for someone to come along and talk some sense into Spyke.

"Why would you-" Spyke was looking back and forth between Ororo and Callisto, but when he saw Ray and Ray saw him it clicked. "Ray?" Ray looked at Spyke, managing to process the power he was holding enough to speak, but speak with difficulty.

"Sorry, Spyke; I couldn't _not_ tell her." Ray conveyed his apologies but also that he didn't regret telling Ororo, especially if it would get through to him. Spyke got agitated and immediately went on the defensive.

"So, what is this? Some kind of intervention?" Spyke physically backed up as he talked. "I'm not returning to th-"

Beep, beep, beep!

Ray and Ororo's communication devices both lit up at the same time. Ray couldn't read anything from his due to the static interference, so he looked over to Ororo who was reading the message on hers.

"Whats it say?" Ray asked with a frown. All eyes were on Storm as replied.

"It's from Hank... Xavier is missing... Rogue has taken him...?" She looked at Ray. "Rogue is awake?" She asked him, and Ray shrugged.

"I was out running after you." He was as clueless as she was.

"Why wouldn't she be awake? And why would she take the Prof?!" Spyke was too curious now to be mad about the poorly organised intervention. Ororo wasn't too sure how to answer. Peaking Evan's interest didn't happen all that often and she was afraid to say something in case it would accidentally push a button. But the brief tense moment was interrupted on her behalf.

"She can fill you in on the way to the Institute." Callisto half told him, half ordered him. That did not go down well with Spyke.

"Wait, what?!" He did a double take as Callisto turned away from him to head back down to the others. Spyke rushed forward to Callisto to confront her on this. "No. I am not going back there, Callisto." He growled out in low tones to her. She sighed.

"Yes, you are Evan." She turned to face him. "And I won't let you come back until you've spent some time there." She told him adamantly.

"You can't order me to do anything." Spyke's alpha male testosterone was kicking in and Callisto didn't care for it. Before he could react, Callisto had spun around and delivered a hard kick to the centre of his torso knocking him back to the ground. The act knocked sense into him, or at least enough sense to know when to stand down. Callisto stood over him.

"You may be the one running around playing superhero, Spyke; but I'm still your leader." She told him, tough as nails. Just after she gave Evan enough time to let that message sink in, she reached out and offered him a hand. He studied it for her angle, and then took it.

"Cal?" He asked as she helped him up. She lowered her voice to him so only he would hear.

"I'll be good for you." She whispered, one of her eyes making contact with his. "It'll be good for us." Spyke nodded.

"If I leave, who will protect everyone?" His hard, armoured head was suddenly struck by something equally as hard. He turned to the direction it came from.

"How many damsels in distress need to kick your butt to get through to you?" Marrow asked casting him a cheeky smile brandishing a long bladed bone. "Just go, already! I got it covered." She added to which he showed very little emotion and just nodded to them. Callisto reciprocated and quickly climbed back down home followed by Marrow.

Ray watched the last glimpse of Marrow disappear beneath the surface and looked over to Spyke.

"I like her." He concluded out loud to everyone, earning a dirty look from Evan. Storm nodded. She liked them both; they seemed to be the only ones who knew how to get through to her nephew.

"We need to get back to the mansion." Storm floated up into the air to head home and Spyke started to run in the same direction. He cast a glance back to Ray who had started to walk in the wrong direction. Spyke stopped.

"Where are you going?" Ray turned back to Evan.

"If Rogue's woken up, she's gonna be expecting her bike back, which means I gotta find where I left it." He rubbed his neck. "If she kidnapped the Prof for no reason, imagine what she'd do to me with a reason..." Evan rolled his eyes but understood where he was coming from, having been threatened to be made 'Spyke-less' once or twice. He turned to run back to the place that was no longer home.

**En****d of Chapter 41**

_A.N. So, not the usual characters to take centre stage for an entire chapter so let me know what you think! _

_Virtual high-five to anyone who got the 'Tesla' thing!_

_R&R! _

_~Rí_


	42. Chapter 42

**A.N. Whoops! Long week... ahem... Miss me?!! Well then let me know! Hoped everyone enjoyed Paddy's Day! And I hope you e****njoy this too!!!! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 42**

She walked in and presented to him her concluding report, handed to him with a very business-like flick of the wrist.

"Thank you, Doctor." Spears expertly greeted her and dismissed her in all the one go. She was about to leave anyway but thought she sensed something out of the ordinary in the room. He mistook her hesitance for a business negotiation, or haggling opportunity. "Can I help you, Natasha?" He asked her looking up from the report, using her first name intentionally to establish a suggestion of friendship. Friends don't ask friends for a raise. She looked at Spears, conflicted over what to say to him. Again, he misread the pause. "Is everything alright with your... samples?" She snapped out of it.

"Oh, why yes." She told him simply in her throaty accent as her expression indicated that whatever she was conflicted about a moment ago, she had made a decision about it and was now quiet pleased, if not sadistically happy with her choice. "But I made need a few more for further, private, analysis." She turned to leave, dismissing herself quickly. "Let me know if anything in that report confuses you." She called back to him undiplomatically. He scowled after her as the door closed.

"Mad scientist..." He sighed, frustrated as he sat back at his temporary desk in his temporary office thumbing through the results of all the experimentation that had happened in the short and expensive space of time, skipping to Dr. Essex's conclusions of the recommended dosage for maximum 'efficiency'.

The business man that he was, he quickly typed the numbers into his spreadsheet to determine the necessary production rate and costs, and smiled as he sat back further into his seat. He closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head as he thought about the prospect profits.

Snikt!

The feel of warm metal blades pressed into his throat made him flinch but he fought the instinct to move lest he cut himself. His eyes shot open and he couldn't see his attacker standing behind him as his eyes danced side to side. Without saying a word, the tip of his shoe edged ever so close to the panic button under his desk. The claws pressed in harder against his raw and scratched skin and their owner whispered to him for the first time.

"No one's that lucky, Bub..."

oOo

_A few hours earlier..._

It was still dark. As Logan had anticipated, they couldn't to set the jet down near their desired location as it wasn't easy to stay hidden here. Paranoia and a highly concentrated military presence made it near impossible to remain invisible. But it wouldn't be too challenging for them. They were forced to leave the jet in a semi-safe location. After an awkward landing, they dressed as civilians; a good start to avoid arousing suspicion, but it was going to take them a lot more effort than that to succeed in their venture.

Logan walked confidently through the dark open streets in his jeans and boots and leather jacket, taking long strides, seemingly confident in where he was going. Laura wasn't as certain as she followed his lead a step behind. He rotated his right shoulder to get it to click back into place; which was related to their 'awkward' landing earlier. He glanced back to Laura, seeing her walking almost in a left-right-left-right fashion. He hung back a little for her to catch up a step to him.

"Relax, kid." He turned his head slightly towards her and told her quietly, conscious that although it was very late at night, there was still a light traffic of cars and people around them.

"This is relaxed." She told him through clenched teeth, her eyes darting all around her taking in the sights and information, logging what may be needed to be recalled later, just in case. The concept of just walking in public was foreign to her. She was nervous and agitated. She was remembering the trouble she was forced to go through to convince Hydra, and every other official sounding agency, that she didn't exist in the mortal realm any more.

Logan knew but rolled his eyes and looked around the streets as he went. His profile shot was known to a lot of people, but he well understood the benefits of hiding in plain view, especially as they were about to walk in to the lion's den. But this would go a lot easier if she could just stop drawing attention to herself by looking like someone with a mission. He spotted a teenager in with his hood up walking forwards with his shoulders slumped forwards and hands in the front pocket pulling down his sweater as if the weight of the world was bringing them down.

He nodded in the guy's direction. She glanced and looked back to Logan, her eyebrows all a question. Logan shrugged awkwardly trying to find the right words as not to offend the short-tempered, and clawed, teenage girl.

"You could try and walk like him..." He suggested to her, to which she looked up at him like he had two heads. She gave him a clear cut look of disbelief. That caused them both to stop still. "What?" Logan grunted, getting agitated by the look and feeling like he had missed something.

Laura looked herself up and down in black boots and three-quarter length jeans and but wearing a pale pink cardigan that was a phasing girl's hand-me-down from the jet. She couldn't look more preppy in that cardigan. He cleared his throat and kept moving; he got the point.

X-23 kept walking a step behind him, but her posture had adjusted slightly and the scene started to look more like a young rebellious teen following her dad to wherever he had in his head to go. He sniffed the air discreetly, she did the same. They had been walking for a few miles now. He looked like he was following something, but she couldn't find the scent he was following. She tugged and fidgeted at the pale pink sleeves as her frustration found a voice.

"What scent are you looking for?" She whispered loudly to him catching up to him. Wolverine turned to look at her.

"Trouble..." He said simply but cryptically. She rolled her eyes, still mindlessly fidgeted with the annoyingly pink thing that she was wearing. She didn't like being here. They had passed by a few very distinctive federal and government buildings already and it made her feels like Hydra were all around her, waiting for her in every dark corners. It was the early hours of the morning still but this place rarely rested peacefully. It had a permanent buzz that made her nervous, like there was always something developing waiting to hit either her or the headlines.

Logan turned down a few side streets leading to a back alley, approaching whatever destination he was headed to from behind. Laura was confused and Logan knew it.

"I'm not following a scent, kid." He turned to her as they neared a corner and stopped dead. "I'm doing this from memory." She rolled her eyes.

"You mean Saunders' memory..." She answered quietly as she became intrigued by what was behind the corner. He leaned closer to the edge and peered around the corner briefly before quickly retracting back to let Laura have a look. She did the same but did not pull back as quick as Logan had.

The alley that they were looking onto wasn't a normal back alley; it was more like a delivery dock for a hospital. The oddest part of this was the five big guys in black suits. Laura squinted and could just make out an ear piece on each of them. These guys were just a few sets of sunglasses away from being a cliché.

She studied them briefly; she could tell a lot about them. One thing they all had in common, apart from still adjusting to their new uniforms, was that they were all a little older than the normal young men she would have expected to pull back entrance guard detail and although tough, they had different strengths in build suggesting different backgrounds. She assessed that it wasn't an ambulance bay; it seemed more for things of a cargo-like nature. She sniffed the air and detected a not-so-fresh mixture of blood and fear in the air. Prisoners could be considered cargo.

She tucked back in behind the corner and whispered to Logan.

"Smells like a hospital... Have you been here before?" She asked him, her eyes still fixed on the building looking for a way in without the drama of physically making an entrance.

"Not that I know of..." Logan responded but sounded further away than she had expected. She turned her head sharply to see that he had moved... above her? She looked up and saw him standing over her on the fire escape to the building behind them. She was impressed; there was no ladder and she hadn't heard him make a sound.

It took her three moves to get up next to him. She silently sprung up and kicked off the wall, catching the bottom edge of the grid Logan was standing on with one hand, swung her body up almost vertical with to the railing on its own momentum. Just as her velocity slowed to zero, she caught the vertical bars of the railing; close to the top, with her other hand; just in time to pull her body to a perfect stop. She then collapsed in her stomach and legs over the other side of the railing, bringing her right next to Logan. She stood up tall next to him and finished her little manoeuvre by flicking her long black hair behind her. Logan nodded.

"So what have you been sniffing out?" She asked continuing their conversation as they climbed higher and higher up the fire escape. She understood what he was doing. The other building was the objective and this was the way in.

"Like I said; trouble." They reached the top and Logan looked out over the edge of the roof and down to where the guards were. "And trouble tends to smell like gun oil." He told her, gesturing to the armed men in black below them.

Laura was only half listening as the view in the distance caught her attention. Shining bright as a beacon, the city's crown jewels sat illuminated and breath-taking among the skyline. The first one to draw her attention was the high rising spike, the flood lit Washington monument. And, not too far away from the magnificent marker was the brilliant white dome of the White House, which was unmistakeable. Logan caught her gaze and followed it.

"This ain't a sightseeing trip, kid." Logan told Laura, almost bringing her back to the present form wherever her mind had just wandered. Still staring out like she was in a mild trance she replied to him.

"I've seen it." She told him distractedly. A moment later she shook her head and was back in the here and now. She looked straight to Logan. "We know that this is the place?" She looked down to the guards and back to Logan.

"I thought you could tell me, kid." Logan asked with a hint of a smile behind his serious face. He looked for the best spot to land on the other side as he backed up a few steps. Laura beat him too it, however and she sprung up high in to the air and landed like a cat on the edge wall of the building across the way, giving a look back to Logan, almost beckoning him to try and beat that. With about a hundred pounds more in Adamantium alone, he wasn't going to beat it, he'd settle for making it without being introduced to the pavement below.

He backed up a little more before giving a short run and sprung up into the air like Laura had done. He didn't quite make it as his toes barely scrapped the edge of the building

Snikt! Snikt!

Logan's claws popped out from their housing to punch straight into the wall two feet short of the top. The three claws on each fist lined up vertically to stop him sliding further. Laura ran over quickly to reach over and help him up.

Un-snikt!

He retracted the claws on one hand to reach up to the edge to pull himself up and over quickly and then retracted the other, swearing quietly under his breath. Laura looked over the edge shamelessly.

"Kid, get back!" Logan whispered loudly as he rotated his wrenched shoulders while they healed quickly.

"They won't look this way." Laura told him, confident in their behaviour. As she had predicted, they didn't look up at them with the sound of Logan smacking into the wall. They looked up, but at the other building they had just left, not their own. "They're all ex-somethings." She began to explain to him. Logan looked over the edge and down to the men below.

"Yeah, I gathered." He agreed with her. "Why would that mean that they wouldn't look directly at us after the ruckus?" The elder asked the junior.

"They weren't 'ex' by choice. None of them are old enough for retirement age and they all look like they have a chip on their shoulder." Laura studied the guards some more.

"Dishonourably discharged?" Logan asked. "They could have just left because this was a better offer." Logan mumbled to himself, but Laura answered anyway.

"No. They're not very disciplined. They've been out of action for a while. One's an ex-marine, there's two that are ex-military. The one that's looking up at the building we just jumped from was a sniper – that's why he's not looking at the building he's guarding." This was the most animated he had seen Laura; but it was a little disturbing that this was the subject that got the girl talking the most. It must be almost like a security blanket for Laura to be talking about something that she knows so much about. But she was starting to talk like she was missing that life slightly. Logan couldn't help but wonder how much easier things would be if she could just follow orders and not have to think for herself. But that could be said for anyone with half a brain.

She pushed herself up from the wall and walked over to a major HVAC exhaust for the building.

Snikt!

She popped her claws and struck the hinges of the grill. It popped off but was easily to put back in place if necessary.

Un-snikt!

She sniffed the air that was being exhausted and blowing back her hair. It was mostly the smell of sterility and blood – typical for a hospital. But there were some interesting scents in the mix. One scent she was sure was linked to the LDX powder she had thrown on her in Rochester. That brought back the memories of other scents in that house, two of which she was picking up now; the housemates of the girl who had tried to help her. She looked back at Logan.

"This is definitely the right place." She started to climb into the large duct and looked back to Logan. "You coming, old man?" Logan nodded.

"Right behind ya, kid." She disappeared the rest of the way into the duct as he took out a small device that was in his pocket and punched a few buttons. He tucked it back in to his back pocket and followed her, but she had had a substantial head start and had already gone too far...

oOo

_A few moments later again..._

Dr. Essex opened the door into Spears' office swiftly and smiled contentedly. She thought she had sensed the presence of something in the vents. It had briefly sent her into a moral dilemma. The shock to her was that she had to think about it. The sequence of events shortly after would completely depend on how much she respected Guy Spears. The tone of voice he used helped her to decide whether to warn him or not. So she went with her instincts and closed the door behind her; decision made.

She walked a normal pace for a few steps as her brain started to do the math. If something was mysteriously about to happen to Guy Spears then she only had so much time to do what she needed. Once around the corner, her paced changed dramatically to reach her office. She punched in the code to unlock the door and grabbed a cryo tube storage box from under her fume hood. She snapped on a pair of latex gloves and opened the storage fridge.

She slowly and carefully extracted each of her collection of samples and put them into the cryobox. As soon as she had them all she clicked the box closed and placed the box into an insulated bag for transport. She already had all her information on an external hard drive in her pocket. She had nearly everything she wanted. She left the room behind her and headed quickly towards her still living experiments.

oOo

Angel leaned and depended on his restraints to stop him from falling over while he tried to sleep. Although terrified, most people in their cells were doing the same. Terror and fear can be exhausting.

Angel dreamt about simpler days, wishing for things that were impossible. He wished that he was never made feel like a monster for years growing up, and that his father wasn't a monster for thinking that way. That kind of hatred for people who are different can be very dangerous, and when it comes from someone who practically has the wealth of a small country; there is very little that can stand in the way of that. He dreamt of flying high in the sky, and seeing those he cared for flying with their own sets of wings too, so he could share with them the unbridled joy he felt while soaring.

Cla-clunk!

Angel jolted awake, wishing he could rub his neck where it hurt but his hands were still restricted. He heard the door opening and the other prisoners stirring. Normally, at this point, the far-too-bright cell lights came on to burn their retina, but that didn't happen. He saw the silhouette of the poisonous doctor in the open door after some shadows moved past her and towards him. All too soon they were at the entrance to his cell fumbling with the lock.

"Uhm, what's goin' on, yo?" The toad had woken with a frog in his throat. The other's had questions too as the guards entered Angel's cage.

"Hey, what are you doing?! Where are you taking him?!" He heard Ryan and Jan shout out between them. It hadn't taken long for everyone to get on a first name basis in here. However, the guards were unresponsive. They roughly unhinged the brackets of the board Angel was strapped to to free it from the wall and started to roll him out of his cage.

"No!" Ryan became agitated as they wheeled past him. He didn't know what he could do but he had to try something; so he tried to stretch out with his powers.

Fzz-BOOM-Boom-boom-boom!!!! BOOM-Boom-boom!!! BOOM!! Boom!!... Ba-BOOM!!!!

The unlit lights in the room were suddenly full of electricity and blasted sparks and glass from their holders in the room. No one had to tell him, he just knew, but the same thing happened in every room in the building and in every room in the nearby buildings sending everyone into the dark ages...

**En****d of Chapter 42**

**A.N. To be continued (faster than the last update)! Apologies for making everyone wait; I was workin hard then disappeared to London for pretend Paddy's Day festivities, then home for real Paddy's Day celebrations! Belated _Beannachtaí Lá Fhéile Pádraig, gach daoine ag léamh mo scéal! Go raibh míle maith agaibh!_**


	43. Chapter 43

**A.N. Hey guys! It's me again!**** Thank you so much for the hits and reviews! Can you beleive it - over 20,000 hits! Makes me so happy! Enjoy the next one! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

*** Advanced warning for unpleasantness... it is written... ***

**Chapter 43**

"_No!" Ryan became agitated as they wheeled past him. He didn't know what he could do but he__ had to try something; so he tried to stretch out with his powers. _

_Fzz-BOOM-Boom-boom-boom!!!!__ BOOM-Boom-boom!!! BOOM!! Boom!!... Ba-BOOM!!!!_

_The unlit lights in the room were suddenly full of electricity and blasted sparks and glass from their holders in the room. No one had to tell him, he just knew, but the same thing happened in every room in the building and in every room in the nearby buildings sending everyone into the dark ages..._

The breeze into his face suddenly cut out. Shrieks echoed around the darkness in the ducts. The panic almost burst his ear drums. He neared a vent and saw no light coming through. He hadn't witnessed a power outage since Leech discovered his abilities. Remembering the effect that that had on his powers he hoped the little kid wasn't nearby; for both their sakes.

Snikt! Snikt!

He saw no need for stealth anymore since the generators didn't kick in immediately. He slashed through the part of the duct before him and dropped down through the panelled ceiling, landing heavily on the dark floor below.

He sniffed the air, knowing full well what direction Laura had gone; and given Saunders memories of the facility he knew that she had gone straight for Spears. Logan wasn't a fan of that idea. Laura could handle herself in any situation, but given the rage pent up within her, he didn't want her doing something she'd no doubt regret later. But Spears had a lot to answer for, so he had a hard time feeling any sympathy for him.

He had only a second to make up his mind as more screams emanated from way down the corridor.

"Angel!"

His heightened senses picked up the name of a friend, causing him to run towards the cacophony of screams, slicing his way through any trouble he found along his way...

oOo

"Argh!" Ryan screamed as pain ripped through him from the explosion of power he felt coming out of him.

"Ryan!" Jan shouted out his name but he couldn't hear as all hell broke loose around him. Pulsating sparks lit up the cells like strobe lighting. The images before them all flickered showing the motions of the thugs dragging Warren out through the door way to the waiting Doctor.

The chaos had woken the sleeping giant from his slumber in the cell across from Ryan.

"Whuts happenin'?" Fred asked the general vicinity, albeit a bit groggily. The toad jumped to latch himself on to the bars on the front of his cell.

"Yo, Fred! My pal! My buddy! Ged us outta here!!!" Toad shrieked before calling out to the guys dragging Angel out the door. "Hey! You forgot to open our cells!" One of the men at the door way pushed the exit door shut and turned around to walk straight up to Toad's cell. He pulled out a taser gun and held it up to the bars on Toad's cell. He pressed the button to deliver a few thousand volts to the creature by conduction through the bars but instead another pulse of power came from the electrified mutant in the other cell. The gun blew up in his hand sending him flying back into the bars of the opposite cell.

"Gargh!" The Blob roared as he pushed off the ground and used his own momentum to knock over the wall of bars in front of him, making a sizeable dent in Ryan's cage in the process.

"Free me! Free me!" Toad shouted to the blob as the lights flickered and sparked around them. The Blob regained his balance and reached over to Toad's cell. He grabbed and few of the bars in one hand and wrenched the bars askew, leaving a sufficient gap to for the Toad. The Toad crawled out and jump straight for the door. He aimed to hit it hard with his heels, which he did, but this only served to dent him and not the door. He bounced off and sprung straight in to the stomach of the Blob.

"Quit foolin' around, Toad." Freddie told him as he wrenched aside the bars of the other cells to release fellow prisoners; they numbered twenty in total. Zara ran to hug Janette immediately but Jan shrugged out of her hug to go to Ryan, whose powers were still sparking out of control in the cell next to hers.

"Jan, no!" Zara pulled her back by her arm, away from the cell with bolts of electricity shooting out from it. Jan turned to face her.

"He needs help!" She pulled her arm out of her grip just as a loud sound of tearing metal came from the door. They all looked to see two pairs of claws in triplicate suddenly shoot through the door to fashion a new exit for them. The metal was kicked in, and the Wolverine stepped through.

"Everybody out!" He shouted into the cells seeing that most of the work had already been taken care of. People started to file out immediately, stepping over large camouflaged bodies outside the door in the process.

"Zara, go!" Jan shouted and pushed her friend towards the man with the claws. Jan turned to step over the ex-marine on the floor when he suddenly grabbed her leg and pointed and gun straight up into her stomach.

BANG!

"Jan!" Zara screamed as the gun went off...

oOo

_The feel of warm metal __blades pressed into his throat made him flinch but he fought the instinct to move lest he cut himself. His eyes shot open and he couldn't see his attacker standing behind him as his eyes danced side to side. Without saying a word, the tip of his shoe edged ever so close to the panic button under his desk. The claws pressed in harder against his raw and scratched skin and their owner whispered to him for the first time._

"_No one's that lucky, Bub..."_

The claws pressed deeper; he thought his neck would be slashed for sure, but his attacker pulled him backwards dragging him away from the panic button. His fingers slowly un-entwined behind his head but his arms were static, paralysed with fear. Suddenly, the chair was spun about with a grunt and growl. He barely had time to register the mutant before he felt two blades slowly scratching either side of his face as they extended from her left fist below his chin.

Sniiiikkk-ktT!!!

He closed his eyes tight until they had stopped extending, and then opened them to take in the appearance of his attacker. She was a petite young girl with dark hair and tanned skin, but his gaze was fixed on her eyes which were disturbingly beautiful but held a raw fury that he had never witnessed before in his life. She didn't care about repercussions and, in spite of the claws framing his face; it was that look which frightened him the most.

"W-who are you?" He stammered as she leaned closer to him still staring him in the eye getting ever so close to him. She was merely an inch from his face, and then sniffed twice. His eyes were wide in surprise and fear but were contradicted by a frown on his face. His arms were above his head and he decided that that's where they'd remain as long as her claws were as close to his jugular. He gulped under her stare. That's when his eyes flicked downwards for a split second, just a moment, but it was long enough to Laura to catch it.

As fast as lightning, she quickly slashed her other clawed hand across his chest. He heard his fabric rip and was convinced that his insides would be on his outsides when he looked down, so he didn't look down, he just squeezed his eyes shut.

Un-snikt! Cla-clink!

The tiny sound of clinking glass and metal made his eyes shoot open. He looked at her and she was looking at her right hand in front of his chest.

Instead of seeing an injury to his torso, he saw the six syringe-like vials, which he had been keeping in his jacket pocket, splayed out in her hand before him. His arms automatically descended to reach for his last line of defence against the freak but she didn't even move her eyes from her find; instead, she twisted her wrist under his chin a degree, just enough to give him a long cut on the left side of his face. The cut extended from the corner of his right eye, over his cheek bone, lining up to the corner of mouth and chin. He hissed at the pain but his hands froze in mid-air, hovering.

"Where are your remaining hit men from the attack in Rochester?" She asked him almost casually, still studying her hand and reading the tiny writing on the side of each of the injectables. He looked at her, feeling his hot blood trickle along the line of the blade against his face and take a turn to disappear under his chin and down his neck, staining his designer shirt at the collar bone. His eyes widened at the realisation that she was the mutant that had evaded his men in Rochester; but the second after his realisation hit, he put on his business face to use whatever information he had to his advantage in this terrifying situation. Laura looked at him when he didn't answer.

"If I tell you, what will happen to me?" He asked as calmly as possible. Laura grinned for a second, considering the endless possibilities from her extensive knowledge that she had accumulated throughout her unique life; and then, she kicked up her right leg and slammed it down right between his legs causing him to jerk back so that her boot landed harshly on the edge of his chair and not on an area he considered to be far more precious. His eyes widened in shock but he struggled to look down against the fist that was steady all-the-while under his chin. His breaths had shortened considerably.

She leaned down to him, left fist under his chin and syringes in her right hand, balancing on her left foot while her right leg was bent and pushing on the edge of his chair dangerously close to him and his. She angled her right foot as she leaned, pointing her right toes upward to the ceiling. She leaned even closer and released his chin. She whispered in to his left ear as his head bobbed forward on instinct.

"I can show you what will happen to you if you don't tell me..." She smiled sadistically at him, waiting for his reaction as she-

Snikt!

He jumped back violently in his chair as he witnessed the razor sharp claw extend suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, from her right foot. She angled it perfectly, the blade only millimetres away from his... clothing.

She almost laughed at his panic until a couple of things on the desk behind him caught her eye.

"Richards is in the building! I don't know where, but he's here somewhere!" He shouted out fairly lively all of a sudden. But Laura wasn't listening; she was scanning through the document, quickly learning the effects of the poison, including some interesting facts about some unexpected side effects in some of the test subjects. Doing some quick mathematics in her head, she kicked his chair away from her to the side. The chair hit the desk and he fell unceremoniously to the floor.

"LDX..." She mused as she stared at the open report on his table top. "Lethal Dose for the X-gene..." She fiddled with the syringes, rolled them over each other one by one in her hand, like meditative boading balls. "'Each pen contains enough of the active ingredient to take out any mutant'. Well, any mutant without a healing factor..." She mused. She looked at Spears briefly. "It hurts like nothing you can imagine, but I don't see that included in the report." She turned her attention back to the document. "'It works best when it is injected'. An interesting weapon – worth it's weight in Adamantium. I can see why it's so valuable." She thought out loud.

"What?" He rolled out sarcastically, "Did you want to buy shares?" She smiled at the comeback.

"You should be more careful, Guy; it says here that four of these are enough to kill a human." She took the cover off one of the doses. No needle attached. She frowned and looked back at the report on the table as he clambered back into the corner quickly placing the needles, from his other pocket, under the book case lining the wall behind him.

"Pity..." She told him, disappointed that there were no needles supplied; it was going to force her to find some other way of being poetic about it.

He was starting to believe that she was all bark and no bite when suddenly she launched herself forward to grab the back of his head with her left hand, pulling him back by the short hair on his head. She crouched over him, her right knee beside his left hip, her left foot beside his right side. He started to panic not knowing what she was going to do with him. She held up one of the pointless syringes before him.

"But, y-you... have no... needles!" He choked out; she had bent his head far enough back that his trachea was put under compression from his neck.

"You need to read the reports Dr. Essex generates more thoroughly; try not just looking at bottom line." She dropped his head to have both hands free. His head hit the floor hard as she pulled the plunger out of the syringe and grabbed his head roughly again, forcing his head back so far that he could almost see where he had stashed the syringe needles, only this was from an upside-down perspective. Suddenly, the power in the building went and they were plunged into near darkness. Unfortunately for him this did not deter her; it simply served to enhance the fear he was experiencing on a whole other level.

"You skipped over the part about various methods of delivery..." She continued on without pausing. He didn't know what she was doing until she was pouring the poison into his nose. He couldn't catch his breath to blow the liquid out; it just burned the lining of his nasal area and brain, working its way quickly into his bloodstream. Any excess dripped back his throat and was quickly swallowed on instinct.

He couldn't form a coherent thought as she dropped his head to the ground again. He heard another faint 'pop' and she roughly grabbed his head again. He closed his eyes and made a grunt in protest.

"Don't pass out yet, bub," She growled, "There's still four more to go-" Her sentence was punctuated by more of the liquid cascading back through his nose...

oOo

Jan jerked at the sound of the gun, and thought it was almost funny that she felt no pain. The Toad slimed the soldier-boy in the face, taking him out by asphyxiation. He then looked at Jan and stared at her perfectly unharmed stomach.

"Hey, Cool! You're invulnerable! Guess you don't need my help!" The Toad shouted before skipping out the door past Wolverine, leaving Jan to stare at her stomach.

"But, I'm not a mutant..." She said to herself quietly before another bolt from Ryan snapped her from her revelation. "Ryan!" She climbed through the bent bars into his cell. He was in the corner shooting bolts left, right and centre. He looked up at her, his eyes electrified and his face pained. It didn't take him long to realise who she was, even though it was the first time he saw her.

"Stay back, Jan! I can't control it!" She walked forwards to him, the bolts bouncing off her with a tickle, but not hurting her. He watched her approach; he was confused but protested to her movements anyway. "No! I can't-"

"It's okay!" She held up her hands to show she was uninjured. She knelt down in front of him and cupped his cheek in her hand to try and sedate him. His white eyes danced as he took her in. Deciding that she was okay, he tried to vocalise what was happening.

"I don't know if I can stop it!" He shouted loudly above the noise and crackling around them. "It's not just the sparks; I can feel all the software and programs and digital info being sent and transmitted all around us!" He grabbed both her shoulders to get some hold on the real world as his mind became full of the virtual one. "Oh, God! The rest of this building is a hospital; a real hospita-"

"Shh, It's gonna be okay; all you have to do is get up!" She told him solidly. The sparks faded a little as he looked in to her eyes. He nodded.

She manoeuvred them and put an arm around his waist to help him up. He was able to walk to the bars and they both climbed through just as the Blob crushed through their exit, making it a little larger. Ryan was walking mostly on his own now, but Jan didn't feel like letting go anytime soon as they made their way out past the Wolverine...

oOo

Angel grunted against his restraints as Richards strapped in the winged freak into the back of the van.

"What do you want with me?!" Angel shouted at the massive ex-soldier in front of him. "Are you on Spears' payroll or my father's?" He growled out. Richards just smiled, wondering if the fact that he was a Worthington was supposed to shock him.

"Neither," He supplied, "I work for the highest bidder; and at the moment, that's Dr. Essex." He told him as he stepped out the back of the van and slammed the doors closed. He walked up to the driver's side and opened the door to step in. He was greeted by Dr. Essex who was already happily situated in the seat and her box of samples on the passenger side floor. He looked at her for a second before she spoke.

"Is our guest secure?" She asked in her accented English. Richards nodded.

"Affirmative." He looked at her, with a slight frown of confusion on his face.

"Good." She said cooly.

BANG!

He didn't even see the gun in her lap before it went off. He clutched the entry wound on his chest and collapsed back on the ground. It only took him a few seconds to bleed out on the cool ground.

Essex reached out to pull the driver door closed and started the engine of the manual-drive van. Putting it in gear, she pulled out calmly from the back alley and onto the main street, disappearing into the darkness...

**En****d of Chapter 43**

_A.N. _

_..._

_... Yikes... _

_... Things are getting dark, are they not?_

_Leave me a review to tell me what you think!_

_Or, alternatively, leave me a review to tell me that you missed me! It's nice to hear from everyone, makes me happy - and when I'm happy, I type faster!_

_Gonna go see "How to Train Your Dragon – 3D" in a minute – it looks good! _

_Enjoy! _

_~Rí_


	44. Chapter 44

**A.N. Loving the response! Thanks to all! ****Enjoy! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 44**

She was on the hunt.

She ran through the darkened corridors and found the scent she was looking for. She picked up her speed and she chased after it.

She followed it as far as sliced and crumpled doorway with bodies strewn in front of it. From their scent alone, she knew that none of them were Richards.

She crawled through the sizable gap and picked up Logan's scent immediately. Richards had been here before Logan, but no one remained barring the remains.

She ran back out and up the stairs and joined a corridor that was full of people rushing in the opposite direction to her; it was, she had determined, a real hospital and was being evacuated due to the black out. It was just the lower floors that were suspect. The light from dancing torches all around her obscured her vision but not the scent. Everyone was running towards the front exit to waiting ambulances; Laura went to the back.

She burst through the back doors to find a strong scent of the man she was looking for coupled with a dank metallic stench. The light of dawn was just barely beginning to illuminate the sky, but it was enough for Laura to make out someone lying in the back ambulance bay. The scent was unmistakeable. Laura ran closer to the body to confirm.

She stood over Richards' body and felt angry that someone had gotten to him before her.

"No!" She screamed in fury, but suddenly sensed someone approaching her from behind. On instinct, she popped two claws on her right hand.

Snikt!

She turned to swipe at her potential attacker but he was as quick as her if not faster.

Snikt!

Two claws of Adamantium clashed with three of equal force, casting sparks in to the darkness between them. Laura growled and pushed against the claws, even when she had realised it was Wolverine. He held their position until she relented. Her anger was still present but she had the sense to realise it would be pointless to take it out on Logan. With a grunt she pushed back from him and Logan retracted his claws.

Un-snikt!

Laura looked around and saw the other mutants and humans huddled in the shadows looking like they were waiting for her.

"Coulda used a hand back there, kid." Logan chided her sternly.

"I was taking care of a loose end." She felt like she was being studied by him, possibly even judged, but whatever gaze it was, it suddenly turned to acceptance and he nodded.

"C'mon, kid. Let's go." He ended their discussion and pulled out a small electronic device from his pocket and fiddled with it but it wasn't behaving. Laura looked at the body at her feet and Logan signalled to the others to head onwards. Laura gave one last look back to the building they had exited and heard a faint gasp.

A young girl, a nurse, had stepped out of the back exit and immediately saw the body strewn at Laura's feet. She saw the girl and the girl saw her. Wolverine had spun at the girl's gasp, sharing the same level of hearing as X-23. For a moment, the two feral mutants stared at the girl. She looked from the body to the girl with metal claws on her knuckles and drew false conclusions; true, Laura was responsible for some of the body count this early morning but you can't make black and white from grey.

Laura looked at the girl and held her clawed hand in front of her face, using her claws like an index finger to create a 'shush' gesture.

Un-snikt!

Laura retracted and turned to follow Logan and the others into the pale morning shadows, leaving the nurse behind. Laura looked briefly at the few handfuls of mutants and humans Logan had freed and cursed that their lack of stealth was going to get them all killed.

oOo

"Forge?" She wandered through the corridors and reached the entrance to the Danger Room, and looked for their gifted time travelling friend. There was no sign of him in their nearly restored facility. She turned and kept looking. She rounded a corner and walked straight through Gambit, who was just emerging from Cerebro.

"Whoa, petite!" He exclaimed in surprise, not having experienced being phased through before; it was a really strange feeling.

"Forge is not upstairs and I've already looked in the Danger Room. Have you found him yet? Was he in there?" Kitty talked at him rapidly, ending by indicating to Cerebro.

"Non, petite; Ders bin no sign o' him." Gambit's answer sounded somewhat rehearsed. Kitty played along however.

"Ok, well, I'll, like, keep looking then." She said as she backed away from him and entered the long walk of the Cerebro platform, hearing the fading of footsteps behind her of Gambit leaving. She released a breath that she didn't know she was holding in. He was bad news, there was something about him that bothered her but she didn't know what just yet. But now, she needed to find Forge; who needed to help them find Rogue and the Professor. Kitty sighed; she had only woken up a little while ago and already this was feeling like a long day.

Her steps echoed around the large empty room and she couldn't see anything that would suggest Forge had been in here – except that Cerebro finished. She walked past three puncture marks at the edge of the platform and wondered when they had gotten there. She looked at the console and pressed the start-up sequence to see if the job had indeed been completed.

The entire room made a soft whirr and lit up as the machine was brought to life. Everything sounded normal and Kitty reached out to shut the whole thing down again but paused when she heard a faint rattling. She frowned and looked around the console for where it could be coming from. She listened and thought it was coming from under the interface.

She knelt in front of the console and then lifted the nearest panel away to reveal the source of the noise. A small plastic bag of cable ties were rustling in the air flow from the cooling fan underneath. They looked like they had been kicked under there in a hurry as the individual ties were scattered in a fanned out pattern. Kitty thought it was strange because looking around there wasn't one single tie on any of the cables under the console.

Forge was a bit of slob when he was in the middle of a project – or more like a tunnel-visioned, self-involved, egotistical, one man hurricane who created insane messes when he was absorbed in his work; but when it was done, presentation was everything to him. Cerebro was finished and everything else was clean. Forge wouldn't have just kicked the ties underneath, or swept dirt under the carpet. Gut instinct told her that this was significant somehow.

The sound of Cerebro masked movements behind her and from the shadowed doorway, red on black eyes glowed and watched her as she picked up the cable ties and counted them back into their bag, checking to see if any were missing. His eyes narrowed as he wondered how much she thought she knew...

oOo

Wolverine quickly led them back to the main street just as they heard the faint sounds of sirens approaching. Logan and Laura's ears pricked up at the sound of the sirens. Laura looked at Logan in question.

"They're probably comin' to help evacuate the rest of the hospital." He told her, but Ryan differed.

"She reported us to the police, Logan." He choked out, struggling to control his amplified abilities while Jan helped to support him, wondering how he knew the feral man's name.

Logan looked at him for a second before connecting; this was the guy that he and Rogue met on their way back to the Institute from Alberta, although he looked a lot worse for wear; something Kane he tried to remember. Meanwhile, 'Something Kane' continued talking.

"The nurse, she called 911 on us from an old pay phone." Noting that Kane wasn't lying or being paranoid, Logan nodded, trusting this guy's powers... whatever they were. The Toad hopped over to Wolverine, shivering all the while, and looked for their plan of escape.

"Yo, if they're after us then shouldn't we be leavin'?" He asked the Wolverine.

"Yeah, where's your jet thingy?!" Freddie asked from a few feet away, looking the same as ever. Logan struggled with the little device in his hand. Finally growling at it, he threw it on the ground to look up high in the sky.

"Any of you know how to fly?" Logan asked the group as the sirens grew gradually louder. Not getting any response he looked around and saw them all straining to find what he was looking at. "Hmph, yeah, 'cause that would make this too easy..." Logan answered himself as the Laura squinted at where the jet should be. "What're you thinkin', kid?"

"I'm thinking if it were just me, there'd be no problem." She told him indicating in the direction of the sirens with a hint of something resembling sarcasm.

"You're on a team now, kid." Logan grinned at their hopeless situation.

"Yeah," She looked around at their barely functioning group, "A team of two." She grumbled to herself dismissing the others around her, but Logan heard and smiled at a distant memory.

"Am, this might be a stupid question but why can't whoever's flying your... 'jet thingy' land it?" Looking up high into the sky, Zara had spoken up to the burly man.

"No one can land it because there is no one flying it." Laura answered for Logan.

"So how were you controlling it?" Logan responded looking at the useless piece of electronic equipment that he had thrown on the ground in frustration.

"I might be able to help." Ryan whispered, still struggling to control the power within him that had been unleashed.

"That your power? Talkin' to machines?" Logan asked, putting together what he had said before about the 911 call. Ryan nodded, while Jan looked on uncertain, which got him to answer verbally.

"Am, well, sorta..." He coughed out. "Mostly I fix servers and keep a good working relationship with my alarm system." He feebly joked and shrugged noncommittal as no one laughed. The Toad felt a need to add to that.

"And take out half a city's power." Toad offered, not encouragingly. Ryan shrugged again as sparks continued to emanate from him all the while.

"Yeah, guess my powers have been amped up a bit..." He looked at Jan, who was still supporting him despite the sparks. He was pondering her power boost from human to mutant and she could see it in his face. Smallest shake of her head told him she didn't want to talk about that now – they needed to stay focussed.

Logan looked at Laura. As Laura had said earlier, they could handle anything that came along here, but they both knew they wouldn't be able to do anything for all these people without the jet. Essentially, they had nothing to lose; 'cept Chuck's jet and some recently evacuated infrastructure if it didn't go so well.

"Do what you can." Logan told him. Ryan had the look of a man who had just realised that he had bitten off more than he could chew. While he picked up the discarded device and started to concentrate on the jet, Zara quietly addressed the man in charge.

"Did that device ever work?" Zara asked indicating to the Wolverine's discarded technology now in Ryan's hand. She looked at the man when he didn't answer. He shook his head.

"Haven't used it yet." Logan replied gruffly. Zara thought the information through and came up with another question for the man.

"So, if you haven't used it, then you didn't use it to get the jet to take off..." She thought out loud. "How did you land?" Zara asked as her shyness faded and was replaced completely with confusion.

"With difficulty..." Logan finished as he rotated his still clicking shoulder that was damaged during the 'awkward landing' he and Laura were forced to do earlier. Zara was about to ask another question when she realised that she was taking to a mutant and figured he had some sort of power that allowed him to survive the fall, which wasn't flying as they had already established. Before her 'adventure' here, she didn't think that she had had many interactions with mutants; she even had believed most of the stories were too farfetched to be true but now she was more open minded.

"More things on heaven and Earth..." She whispered to herself before returning most of her attention back to Ryan; however, she caught a slight flinch of amusement in Logan. "What?" She enquired as to what part of the whole situation struck him as amusing. Logan responded gruffly.

"You just reminded me of someone." He told her, not including the details that she reminded him of a giant, furry, blue scientist; for some reason he reckoned it just wouldn't be taken the right way...

From a few feet away, Kane made a pained noise as the sparks shot out from him again. Logan walked forward to help Jan support the man as he attempted to communicate with the jet to land it on a street. When he got too close however a spark shot out and hit his arm sending a few volts straight through his metallic support structure. It was not a pleasant feeling.

Logan stepped back, looking at the girl who was helping Kane who wasn't getting shocked at all. Whatever her power was, he left her to it. It wasn't long before he could hear the sounds of the jet fast approaching – albeit a little too fast.

The long wide street was echoing the thunderous sound of the incoming jet, easily drowning out the sound of the sirens that were only around the corner. The jet was coming in hot; Logan and Laura squinted into the early morning sky and were able to make out the Blackbird. Kane roared out as the power came back to the city. The street lights flickered like runway lights as the Jet's nose tilted up to land and descended at the far end of the avenue. Logan was impressed at what this kid could do with so little training and control.

The wheels of the jet almost didn't descend in time to hit the ground, but after a few bumps and skids, it was clear that the jet had made solid contact. However, as it landed on the other end of the emergency runway it was clear to them that it was still coming in too fast to stop before it ran out of runway.

"Kane! Cut the power and brake!" Logan shouted at the kid but he looked like he was too caught up in it all to hear. Logan grunted and ran as fast as he could down the street to intercept the jet just as the police cars rounded the corner at the end of the street where the mutants were standing and the jet was aiming to end. He didn't have to wait long before the jet was upon him. He jumped just as it was passing over his head.

Snikt! Snikt!

He stabbed the back underside of the jet for grip with one hand and slashed strategically at one spot of the jet's armoured body. Almost instantaneously, a parachute ejected from the back end of the jet, inflating quickly to exponentially increase the jet's drag causing a sudden loss of momentum. The police cars wheels were spinning violently in reverse once the fast approaching jet was spotted. The jet was slowing arresting but it was still at risk of hitting a public library building at the end of the street where most of the police cars had left skid marks outside. Everyone cleared out and Logan braced himself for the impact.

The jet hit something, something that caused it to bounce instead of crumple. Logan felt the jet stop moving. He couldn't see what was hit, so he jumped down from the underside of the jet as he retracted his claws. He looked up at the scratches he'd caused and flashed back to his destroyed motor bike.

"Too soon..." He said to himself, hating to see any fine piece of craftsmanship damaged; well anything at his disposal anyway.

He walked under the jet to the front and almost had to look twice due to disbelief. Immediately in front of the jet's front wheel was the Blob. He had stepped in front of the jet to stop it. Why he did it, Logan couldn't say; but it was a little hard to believe that a member of the Brotherhood would risk their skins just like that. Logan didn't really care why at that moment though, they had other problems; like getting the jet outta here again as the cop cars tentatively pulled back in towards them.

Ryan fell to his knees, despite Jan's help and put a hand to his head. The police officers behind them started shouting as their vehicles took on a life of their own to drive away. As they were distracted, the hatch-door to the jet clicked open and descended for people to get on board. Most of them ran forward up the ramp as Ryan finally went limp and the lights around them stopped flickering. His hand dropped and he fell onto his side.

"Ryan!" She was there at his side and cupped his face in her hands to get him to look at her, but his eyes were closed. He was very handsome; but now wasn't the time to focus on that. "Ryan!" Jan screamed with a sob. "Wake up!" Please wake up, she prayed and shook him a little. His eyes slowly flickered but opened with tremendous effort and found her.

"You're pretty." He whispered out to her, clearly not thinking straight. She smiled, relieved to hear his voice as the sparks flew between them. Just as it was ascertained that he was going to be okay, Laura came back from the jet and quickly slipped something to Jan. He barely felt it as she dosed him with a sedative so they could get him on the plane safely. Jan nodded to Laura as the sparks died down; between both of them they were able to quickly carry him on board.

Logan pressed a button to dislodge the chute from the back and waited until everyone was on board and strapped in before throwing the Jet in reverse. Just as he gained enough runway to start the take-off sequence, Zara, who had been looking at all the strange technology around her, piped up to Logan and Laura once more.

"Who are you people?" She asked in disbelieving awe rather than in disgust. Logan looked to Laura, who looked back. She rolled her eyes and reluctantly answered the girl while still facing forward at the front.

"We're the X-men." She gritted out the cheesy line as if it went against every fibre of her being – resulting in Logan allowing a tiny smirk to form across his face as the plane left the ground and flew off into the brightening sky.

**En****d of Chapter 44**

_A.N. So the darkness was well recieved last chapter? That's good. Hopefully the darkness to come will go over well too, but we'll just hafta see... There could be some dark clouds on the horizon... Oh, wait - that's ash_ _from Eyjafjallajökull... Crazy stuff! _


	45. Chapter 45

**A.N. Well, extra effort to update this weekend! So I hope you e****njoy with muchness! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 4****5**

"This is bad." Ororo was only moments after walking in to the mansion and already she had been informed of Rogue's sudden waking and the Professor's disappearance, as well as Rahne's reaction to her transformation and subsequent healing. Storm hadn't anticipated the question, 'Where's Hank?' to have such a long answer from Jubilee.

Ray and Spyke filtered in behind her and caught the end of the one-sided conversation. The quick re-cap had refreshed Ororo's memory as to the goings on in the mansion before she left. She recalled Logan's mission.

"Has there been any contact from Wolverine?" Jubilee shook her head but then changed her mind mid shake to a nod. Ororo raised her eyebrows for an explanation.

"Well, we haven't exactly heard from him or Laura, but we do have an idea as to how things went..." Jubilee explained slowly and uncertainly. Ororo waited for further information as Ray and Spyke drifted towards the kitchen...

oOo

"This is really bad..." Amara disturbed the shocked silence as she stood at the kitchen counter surrounded by Jamie, Bobby, Jamie, Sam, Jamie, Tabitha and another Jamie as they all forgot about their breakfast and stared at the LCD screen in disbelief. They didn't even notice Spyke walk in, followed closely by the slightly dishevelled Berserker.

'_... __These are just a few of the eye witness accounts of the alleged failed mutant on a hospital in our nation's capital. _

'_If you are just__ tuning in, we have breaking news that a group of dissident mutants allegedly orchestrated an attack on a research military hospital in Washington DC only an hour ago. Some of the mutants have been identified and are known to the police-'_ Images flashed on the screen of Toad and the Blob; archived images from previous news reports from many incidents in Bayville and beyond.

'_There are unconfirmed reports __that a mutant affiliated with the group known as the 'X-men' was among the group, sparking debate of whether or not the group who assisted in the global Apocalypse crisis have been given a blanket pardon to permit continued self-governed vigilantism. We go live to our political correspondent, Stephen Clarkson; Stephen.'_

'_Carol.' _The image changed to split screen of the reporter standing among a chaotic scene of ambulances and police cars outside the front of the main ambulance bay of the hospital in question. Stretchers carrying patients were being rolled out behind him as he began. _'As you can see behind me, patients are still being evacuated from St. George's Military Research and Teaching Hospital. The details of the events that transpired here tonight are outstanding to say the least. Eye witness accounts have led us to believe that a power outage occurred in the last hour. The power outage was assumed to be an electrical problem and hospital administration began the evacuations immediately, however, shortly after a call was made to the police about what was allegedly described as the scene of manslaughter!' _

There were a few gasps around the room at the last line as the view in his section of the screen changed to images of police tape around back alleys and forensic scientists, garbed from head to toe in non-shed gear to reduce risks of contaminating or compromising the scene, crossing police lines. The display reverted back to the at-the-scene reporter as he continued talking. _'As you can see, an investigation has already begun by District law enforcement and the FBI. Fortunately, dawn broke a little while ago which will aid their investigation as well as the evacuation._

'_The most bizarre and terrifying aspect of these proceedin__gs were police reports of an air craft landing near the scene on the street.' _

'_I'm sorry, Stephan; I think we were having some technical difficulties; it sounded like you said an air craft landed in the middle of Georgetown!'_

'_That's right, Carol. A__s hard as it is to believe, multiple accounts suggest that a black jet landed on M Street Northwest, but the most unbelievable part became apparent as authorities were going through video from dozens of surveillance cameras, both public and private. What they seem to all have concluded was that it appeared as if the jet was brought down by one of the mutants; it is also believed that this mutant was responsible for the power outage.'_

'_That does seem incredible, Stephen. Where is the jet now?'_

'_The current location of the jet is unknown. It appears as if the mutants escaped using this jet; the Federal Aviation Administration has been contacted as to how a jet would have gone unnoticed in the city; as you may be well aware Carol, Washington DC is a "no-fly zone" for obvious reasons. Although this jet landed and took off without causing any damage, the implications of the jet getting that close to the city undetected has caused a national security alert.' _The anchor took over the conversation as everyone's eyes were glued to the screen.

'_Keep in mind, Stephen, that this is only a few weeks after the Rochester incident where an unidentified mutant launched an attack on a university campus, which corresponded with the disappearance of Duncan Matthews, a nineteen year-old student at the University of Rochester. There have been other alleged disappearances at this university but authorities involved in the investigations have told us that they are _not_ treating these disappearances as suspicious. The mutant responsible remains unidentified, but authorities in the area remain on high alert._

'_Stephen, as our political correspondent, has there been any announcement about this attack from The White House?' _The anchor's attention returned to their man in the field as he responded after the moment of delay for him to receive her question through his ear-piece.

'_There has been no official press release from the Oval Office yet, Carol; but there has been a __call from Senator Creed to take a another look at the Mutant Registration Act that was put to the back of the list as a priority in the Senate only a few months ago after the fall of the mutant Apocalypse. Even in the last few minutes, this has reignited the controversy on Capitol Hill, only this time – reasons to support the Act has grown tremendously. Needless to say, Carol, the stand of the Oval Office may be all that's needed to turn this proposed Bill into a reality-' _

The reporter touched his ear piece to end his own speech and turned around in to witness a gurney being rolled out by an M.E. and her assistant. The gurney had a black body bag lying on top and was loaded into the back of the coroner's van followed by a rush of reporters to the police lines to ask the obvious questions, including 'Stephen' as the camera zoomed on the scene. A federal agent, seemingly in charge, stepped forward as the coroner kept repeating 'No comment' into everyone's microphone. The federal agent held up his hand to tell everyone to stop asking questions and get ready for their sound bite...

oOo

"This is really, really bad..." Rahne whispered in her Scottish accent as she leaned forwards to let the Beast place a stethoscope on her back under the shirt Jubilee had given her when she had woken. She inhaled sharply at the cold metal touching her skin making Roberto twitch from where he stood awkwardly in a corner of the room, his back turned to them to offer Rahne some privacy. He was trying to look calm and optimistic as he waited for the Beast to make a conclusion and explain what had happened to her; and more importantly, what _will_ happen to her.

"Having a healing factor?" The Beast asked her her meaning as he shook his head and moved the scope around on her back as she inhaled deeply and rhythmically. "I would have to consider that very fortunate." He added in a soothing baritone voice while he listened.

"I only have one because I was poisoned..." She mumbled almost inaudibly so only Hank could hear her. The Beast sighed, thinking back to how Scott and Roberto were able to revive her in California.

"It may be the only reason you're still alive." The Beast added as he lifted the stethoscope from out under her shirt and pulled the ends out of his ears. He respectfully peeled up her shirt on her left side to reveal the point of entry of the poison a few days previous. All he could see was perfect skin as he felt for broken ribs, of which he found none.

He fixed her shirt and began to roll up her sleeve on her left arm; she knew what was coming next. The Beast saw her flinch and paused before pulled over a tray of the necessary items.

"May I take a sample?" Rahne looked at the needle in its plastic casing in the tray for a split second before nodding. Roberto turned when he didn't hear her answer and saw that the Beast was about to take blood. He looked to Rahne and saw her reservations about the idea written all over her face. Quietly he stepped forward and stood next to her as the Beast took the sample he needed.

The Beast was used to seeing healing factors in action and observed that the puncture mark in her skin did not heal when he withdrew the needle. It was an observation that he would keep to himself until he had some definitive answers for her. The Beast gestured for them to follow him to his lab across the hall. Rahne fixed her sleeve and was about to hop off the bed to follow the Beast but Roberto had a hand out to help her.

"Don't even think about it." She told him before she even saw the hand out. He quickly retracted the hand before she turned to face him and he looked at her innocently as she hopped down herself.

"What?" He asked feigning confusion. She looked at him with nothing but sincerity and her usual bluntness.

"I'm no' helpless." She told him straight out not meeting his eyes. "I can stand, I can walk 'n', apparently, I can heal. I can also rip people to pieces if I needed too, for goodness sake, I don't need to be babied." She tugged harshly at her sleeve. "I'm an animal." She said slightly softer and sadder, remembering how she had wanted to kill Jubilee and Roberto when she transformed, which would be something she would never admit to them.

She had her miniature rant at the floor, before Roberto made her meet his eyes with a finger under her chin. She blinked down a few times before relenting and finally looked up at him.

"I know you're not helpless, but your big bad wolf act won't scare me away either." He told her firmly before leaning in to kiss her. At the last second she pulled away from him. He was confused. She looked down again.

"What if the poison's contagious...?" She whispered, again, in the direction of the floor. He smiled at his new found hypochondriac, thinking that now would not be a good time to remind her that the first time they kissed was _after_ she was poisoned. He simply nodded and kissed her forehead instead.

"Come on; let's see what Mr. McCoy has to say." He took her hand in his and escorted (not helped) her to the Beast's lab.

"Oh, my stars and garters!" Their blood froze as they heard Beast's exclamation from his lab and rushed in.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" Rahne ran up next to the Beast's station worrying what he had discovered through her blood work, only to notice that he hadn't even started it yet. She frowned but then both Rahne and Roberto forgot to breathe as their ears picked up the latest news from the radio playing in the Beast's lab.

'_-The White House included in their statement, that the FAA have been instructed to enhance their security systems for air craft detection; until such a time that they can prove the robustness of their systems, the country will remain on high alert. That's the news this morning__ on EN fm. _

'_The main headlines again, we have breaking news of a mutant attack on a hospital in Washington DC. There have been at least two fatalities; John Richards, an ex-officer of the United State Marine Corps who, preliminary reports suggest, died of a gunshot wound to the chest, and the other victim has yet to be confirmed by the coroner's office. However, there have been leaks through the social networking site, 'Twitter', that the identity of the second man is that of Spears' Sports founder and owner, Guy Spears. We have contacted Spears' Sports for confirmation. _

'_The White House have issued a press release to announce that due to these recent developments, the Mutant Registration Act, owned by New York's Senator Creed has been put back on the table and will be given top priority.'_

oOo

He was sure that he had opened his eyes; his head was probably pounding from the drugs Tabitha had given him. He knew that he wouldn't have wanted to be held up in here, but the guy had to sleep and eat. He looked around the room, but it was dark. He still had a funny feeling that there was more than just the two of them in there. He was right.

"What are you doing here?" Scott mumbled groggily to the room. Alex took a step back from his brother at his tone. Unsure, he stepped a little closer.

"Scott? You awake, bro?" From Scott's tone, Alex couldn't tell if he was awake or just talking in his sleep.

"No..." Scott mumbled. Alex nodded with a smile, taking that as a sign and stepped closer to the bed his brother was landed in. Kurt, who had been in the chair next to the bed before, had been moved to his own room to sleep off whatever Rogue had done to him.

"I was just checkin' that you were alright, Bro-" Alex started but was interrupted by more of Scott.

"No!" Scott shouted more forcibly and sat up on the bed, his shaded gaze never once leaving Alex. "You're not real!" He shouted at his brother like a man possessed.

"Whoa, bro! It's okay, it's me... Alex?" He told him uncertainly. Scott hopped down from the bed, albeit a tad wobbly, but took a fighting stance immediately. He was still fully dressed from being dropped into the bed a few hours ago. Alex held up his hands in defense but Scott must have read it as a motion of attack because he suddenly reached up to remove his rose-quartz glasses...

oOo

His eyes opened slowly, his head was pounding but someone was brushing back his hair and whispering soothing sounds to him as he lay there. Jean, he was supposed to be with Jean, but he was. He looked around the rest of the room but everything was blurry. He focussed his eyes on the woman lying on the bed next to him, brushing back his hair. Jean was beautiful as she stared back at him in her unmarred X-men uniform. But as he stared at her, he began to remember that she had been injured and that she was supposed to be in bed, resting.

"What are you doing here?" He mumbled groggily to her. He was delighted that she was awake, but he didn't want her over-exerting herself – she might bust a stitch. She pretended to be hurt by the question.

"Do you want me to leave?" She hopped down from the bed in one fluid motion like a ghost. She smiled teasingly back at him.

"No..." Scott mumbled as a smile formed on his face.

"I didn't think so." She turned and leaned back down to him. **"You never could let her go..."** She quickly pressed her lips against his and kissed him hard. He furrowed his brow and tried to pull away from her but she kept him where he was with a death grip on the back of his head. She growled out a laugh at his efforts to separate them. He struggled but found the strength he needed and pushed her away from him.

"No!" Scott shouted more forcibly and sat up on the bed, his shaded gaze never once leaving her. She laughed manically and backed away to the doorway.

"**What's wrong, Cyclops. You can't handle the real Jean?"** She started to glow a fiery colour as the tattoo of the phoenix began to glow around Jean's left eye and the colour in the rest of her body changed to a black silhouette.

"You're not real!" He shouted at her, the Phoenix. Scott hopped down from the bed wobbly, but took a fighting stance immediately.

"**Of course I'****m real, Cyclops; and you and the rest of the X-men had better start getting used to the idea. Jean and I are here to stay. You need to stop fighting it, she already saw reason. She knew what we were, what we could do together – and she let us happen. And so did Xavier..."** She purred out to him from her silhouette. Scott, having heard enough lies from the Phoenix, suddenly reached up to remove his glasses.

"Leave us alone!" Scott shouted and ripped off his sunglasses, opening his eyes fully as something clicked within him, but it was too little too late.

Red optic blasts shot out from his eyes and blasted Alex back through the plaster board wall and out into the corridor behind him. The blast was short as Scott realised what he had done. He shut his eyes tightly and put his glasses back on. Scott ran to Alex's side.

"Dude!" His little brother coughed out through the plaster dust settling around him, holding his stomach where Scott had blasted him, feeling the raw skin underneath framed by a singed shirt. "What is your problem!" Alex choked out as he cleared his lungs. Scott reached down to him, having shaken off the remaining effects of the drugs.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else." Scott offered as a pathetic excuse as he pulled Alex to a standing position. He was lucky in a way, if it had been anyone other than Alex that was blasted, they would've been hurt a lot more. But Alex was looking for more of an explanation than that.

"I thought you were the Phoenix... I could have sworn she was in the room." Alex paled a little and look across the hall to where Jean was lying peacefully still. He was a little scared of Jean ever since she sent that chair flying at him before she disappeared to Rochester. The fear was added to when he witnessed her taking out Cerebro long distance on her way to Rochester.

Since then, he had heard stories of Jean losing control over the last few years and tales of more recent events. She seemed so nice, and was so nice – but he was afraid of her, or more importantly, he was afraid of what would happen to Scott if he didn't believe what his teammates had told him she was capable of. But it seemed like that particular worry he could forget about.

Scott walked over to the doorway of Jean's room and saw she was indeed asleep.

"We have to save her. We have to stop the Phoenix." He whispered to himself. Alex's worry began to return as he realised that Scott may not have grasped the concept that Jean and Phoenix may not be separable. Scott viewed the Phoenix as a foreign entity using Jean as a host, he still hadn't accepted that this was all her.

"We need to get the Professor." Scott told him straight out and started looking around to get his bearings. Alex hesitated.

"Am... that might be easier said than done..." Alex scratched his head as he began bringing him up to speed on what he had missed.

**En****d of Chapter 45**

_A.N. Now - is that everyone up to speed? Some serious repercussions and bad press there. And __Phoenix is stirring things up again - tut tut. _

_L__et me know what you think! __Please review this marathon story! _

_~Rí_


	46. Chapter 46

**A.N. No, I didn't fall of the face of the planet - I just fell into that bottomless pit of work! But, using incredible ingenuity I rigged together a jet pack out of a broken pump and some old dc adaptors that I just happened to have at the time I fell, and using raw unprocessed will power from Chuck Norris to fuel the gadget - I finally surfaced!**

**I missed creative writing...**

******Tell me whatya think of this one! R&R, RR!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 4****6**

Clicks of rapid finger typing echoed in the large, mostly empty room. Once inputting what she needed to search for in one of the many databases available to her, she pushed herself from the ledge of the keyboard and slid and swivelled on her chair, stopping at the next console and interface only to begin the rapid typing once more. In all her concentration, she didn't see someone walking up behind her, surveying her work.

"Kitty?" The Shadowcat nearly phased out of her skin. Kitty turned to face the exceptionally tall Ororo Munroe, who was standing just a few feet behind her. She looked tired but alert; she was concerned about the situation but she wasn't as worried about life as she had been these last few months. She was looking at the screens in front of her; Kitty saw her eyes dancing back and forth rapidly reading the search results on the monitors seeing that Kitty had clearly caught on that something was amiss in the world of the media.

"Never a dull day..." Storm told Kitty, her eyes never leaving the screens behind her. Kitty swivelled back around to the console and brought up some more shots; some of the live footage in Washington DC, some archived footage of Rochester and more that was wholly unconnected to the X-men but conveniently fit the style of the X-scapegoat for any trouble lately, which was being neatly knitted together by various channels. Ororo continued to scan the police reports Kitty had brought up and then joined Kitty at the console to bring up Cerebro's stats. "I take it that you're up to speed on all current events?"

"Totally, like, more than you know." Kitty watched Ororo type in administrative passwords to the Cerebro program and the Institute's security system. "Am, you do know that the Professor is missing? And that Jean is in a coma? And I can't find Forge!" Ororo winced at Kitty's supersonic stress levels as the teenager pointed out the flaws in accessing Cerebro without a telepath and someone who stood a chance and helping them come up with a new way to run Cerebro.

"I am aware; but the security system links to Cerebro – we can get a reading on any mutant near the grounds of the Institute." Kitty hated that she hadn't thought of that first; even without Xavier to run it, if they were close enough, it would give them a historical reference and a last know whereabouts for the missing mutant, or one of the missing mutants.

They both scanned through the search results quickly and Kitty noticed something straight away.

"Well, Forge isn't here, I wonder where-" Kitty started but got distracted by someone else's mutant signature appearing on the screen. "Hey! Spyke's back!" Kitty declared loudly to Ororo, and then realised that she probably already knew. Ororo nodded.

"He has rejoined us for a short time from the Morlocks." That was all Storm gave Kitty of the status of Spyke's return before two screens flashed before them. Each woman looked at a screen each.

"They're back!" They both declared at the same time, one declaring it in an expected tone, the other sounding very surprised.

oOo

Bamf!

oOo

Spyke had slipped away discretely from the crowds and questions from his former teammates. He was suffering from information overload and couldn't take it. Ororo had decided to take charge of the situation with respect to the media as well as the Professor and Rogue; she had gone to the multimedia room to figure out a plan of action. Spyke, seeking refuge and having heard about Rahne being poisoned, decided to visit Mr. McCoy.

Spyke was having a hard time finding the lab; the layout of the building had altered slightly since the last time he had been down in the lower levels, a hazard of frequent remodelling. He had found Cerebro first and he walked past it. Then he could hear Auntie-O and Kitty talking from the multimedia room and immediately turned in the opposite direction as a gut reaction – he didn't think he could handle Kitty's bubbly nature just now. He passed a few doorways in the corridor of what he assumed to be the medical wing. He noticed the missing glass in some of the window frames and a wall that looked like it had been blasted back recently. He kept moving.

He walked past a patient's room and didn't even notice one of his former teammates lying in there seemingly peacefully, but he felt compelled to continue on straight for some reason. He thought he had seen the Beast's lab but kept walking regardless, completely forgetting his objective. After turning a corner, something in him tweaked that he was going the wrong way, and he turned back towards Beast's lab. But as he neared the corner, someone he really wasn't expecting appeared around it.

"Evan?" She gasped in surprise. Spyke frowned at the girl before him. He thought she was supposed to be in a coma but clearly he had been misinformed.

"Am... Hey, Jean? It's good to see you..." He looked at her, but the look she gave back to him clearly told him that she was wondering what he was doing here as well. She must have realised she was staring, because she shook her head and looked away like she had just remembered something. "You okay, Jean?" Spyke made to scratch the back of his head, absentmindedly – an old habit, but awkwardly scratched the home grown armour surrounding his skull instead.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine!" She smiled back to him, the cheery bright smile she normally wore around people; but it didn't quiet reach her eyes. She looked at him. "You're looking for Hank." She told him. He studied her crossly dropping his hand immediately.

"It's nice seeing you again, Jean, but stay out of my head." She flinched back from him; she was weaker than he had ever seen her before – almost made him feel guilty for barking at her.

"Sorry, my powers seem to have a mind of their own these days..." She muttered quietly before rapidly changing her demeanour to helpful rather than helpless. "I can take you to Mr. McCoy if you like?" He looked at her suspiciously before accepting her offer with a nod indicating for her to lead the way. Jean strolled alongside him as she led him further down the dark corridor...

oOo

He was still unconscious, just as he had been found; but this time the elf was in his own room where Tabitha had moved him earlier with the help of the Russian. He stood in the doorway, staring at him wondering what Rogue had done to him.

He stood there for a few minutes, thinking about Rogue and Jean; and whether or not either of them can be trusted?

But with thoughts like this, he began wondering if he should even be on the team at all. If he can't trust his teammates, who can he trust? And if he would always be asking that question, can they trust him?

True, he was new to the team; and true, there hadn't been many team building exercises to participate in yet...

He shrugged his shoulders in the doorway thinking that the people he had always thought of as highly capable, highly trained individuals were fraudsters; they were just reacting to whatever came up since he got here.

Speaking of reacting; Alex jumped when a hand descended on his shoulder disturbing him from his inner monologue. He turned to see who it was, for a split second thinking that it was his older brother but he corrected himself when he realised he was staring into a different kind of glowing red eyes.

"Relax, mon ami." Gambit greeted him. Alex pretended to loosen up, but the thought of trusting any one here was niggling at the back of his mind.

"I'm fine." Alex fibbed, Gambit saw something flash over Alex's expression but though it best not to press the issue with someone he didn't really know all that well. There were lines, sometimes fuzzy to him, but he did have decent enough social skills to at least recognise them if not always respect them.

"Any change?" Gambit nodded to the fuzzy dude on the bed. Alex shook his head.

"No. Not sure what Rogue did to him..." Alex muttered. "I'm gonna go see if I can help someone with... something." He sighed slightly in defeat as he retreated elsewhere from having to talk to anyone. Gambit was more preoccupied with Nightcrawler to follow him.

Gambit stepped into the elf's room and pondered his state from the side of Kurt's bed.

If Kurt was going to be unconscious permanently, then clearly Rogue wasn't in her right mind when she left him like that.

But if this was just something temporary, which was more likely, then why would Rogue make him sleep just for her escape? The girl has so many powers in her arsenal, why choose to knock her brother out like this? Was it because it was the least invasive method?

Or was Kurt going to remain this way until she returned?

Now that was more interesting; did Kurt know something that she didn't want anyone to find out? Did he know where she would go, where she would take the Professor?

Kurt's eyes shot open as Gambit was thinking; he suddenly reached up and grabbed Gambit's shoulder like a vice grip in blind panic.

"Rogue!" He cried out.

Bamf!

And the two mutants disappeared in a cloud of smoky brimstone.

oOo

After a little while walking deeper in to the underground of the mansion, Spyke looked at Jean.

"Why would Mr. McCoy be down here?" She hesitated to answer him and then shrugged.

"I think he's helping someone down here." She told him vaguely as they stopped at a heavy door. Jean stepped aside to indicate to Spyke to open it.

"Who's he helping?" Jean furrowed her brow in concentration to see who it was. She stared down to her right as she talked.

"Brad... something..." Spyke looked at the door in confusion as he touched the door handle, and then Jean said something, with a dark smile at his back, that made his blood freeze. "**Brad Saunders.**"

Spyke only took seconds to recover from the shocked pause before wrenching the door aside. He stepped in and spiked out two hot glowing spikes from each forearm to light the room. Sitting in the corner of his cell was someone that Spyke had not seen in well over a year.

"_**Brad Saunders, executive assistant to Spear's Sports founder, Guy Spears."**_

Jean, or more accurately, the Phoenix, invaded his thoughts and preyed on his emotions purely for the pleasure of stirring things as she couldn't.

Spyke tried to rationalise the situation. Saunders did not directly poison him; he didn't even own the company that poisoned him.

"_**B**__**ut he knew it was poison and willingly worked for that company and for that man to produce this accidental compound as a weapon against us."**_

She was pushing him; Jean's incorporeal ghost hung back from Spyke to watch the situation unfold.

Spyke could feel his temper rising and the debate pounding in his head. The man sitting in the cell was not solely responsible for it all, but-

"_**-but all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing..."**_ Jean whispered to him, and pushed him over the edge to pure rage as the red hot spikes shot out from his arms, heading straight for Saunders...

oOo

Bamf!

Kurt and Gambit appeared in a cloud of smoke in Saunders cage. Kurt quickly threw both himself and Saunders to the ground to avoid getting skewered by the spikes that were suddenly heading straight for them, whereas Gambit just missed being hit by mere millimetres. His eyes, still adjusting to the scene, immediately focussed on the figure standing behind the angry spiked mutant.

"Non..." He breathed as he saw the same evil witch laughing to herself, preying on and controlling Spyke; unfortunately for Gambit, he was forced to focus on Spyke as more spears shot out from his arms.

Gambit kicked up the cot to use as a shield for cover for himself and Kurt and Saunders behind him. He quickly realised that it wasn't going to last candlelight when each spike that hit it almost went through fully. He also noticed that it was like shooting fish in a barrel if they were to stay behind the bars. Gambit quickly weighed the risks and latched on to the bars of the cell in front of him, lighting it up with sufficient kinetic energy for his intent.

"**No!"** The Phoenix screamed for her puppet as Gambit dove for cover with Kurt and Saunders.

BOOM!

Spyke was thrown back into the wall as the cage exploded in front of him. The blast was concussive to everyone in the room, Kurt had been knocked out, but Jean forced Spyke's will to stand and take aim once more at the group of mutants at the other side of the room.

"Spyke!" Logan burst through the doorway just in time to wrench Spyke's arm and shot away in time to divert the spears away from the other mutants.

Bamf!

Someone grabbed Kurt and had enough of their wits about them to grab Gambit and Saunders too and take them elsewhere in a cloud of smoke.

Bamf!

oOo

Bamf!

Gambit re-emerged with Saunders and Kurt somewhere in the medical wing. Gambit broke away from whoever got them out of the situation they were in only to turn around and find himself looking straight into the green eyes of Rogue.

Their eyes met, and Gambit became uncharacteristically quiet. They were only a few inches away from each other; time seemed to extend to infinity. Rogue's eyes darted down to his lips and Gambit had to swallow hard as her gloved hand came up to brush his rough with stubble cheek. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her as her thumb brushed his bottom lip.

"You're bleedin'?" She told him as he felt the sting on his lips where she had touched, he figured he probably hurt it from being too close to the cage when he made it explode. He didn't let that distract him though.

"You're back." He told her, mirroring her tone but then couldn't help but smirk at her. "Couldn't stay away from me fo' too long; huh, Cherie?" Her hand pulled back from his cheek to smack him on the side of his head lightly.

"Had to kill the moment, huh?" She pulled back from him with a smirk to help the wakening Kurt up to his feet, and Gambit propped Saunders up against the wall, out of the way as he smiled back at Rogue.

"But you admit there was a moment, cherie." Kurt held his head as Rogue helped him up and grimaced at their conversation.

"Ugh, get a room." He told them, as he opened his eyes; realising he was talking about his sister, he thought he should strike that comment. "Or, actually, don't." Rogue rolled her eyes when she realised they had more pressing matters to deal with and walked around the corner towards Jean's room. Gambit followed, Kurt being elected to stay with Saunders.

At the door of Jean's room, sitting there, like he had never left, was Xavier. He was wheeled as close to the room as possible. He was staring into Jean's room where a dark fiery sphere had engulfed Jean, who lay peacefully in the midst of the chaos of flying object and debris circling her.

It looked like Xavier had either arrived back in the nick of time or just a little too late. Xavier placed his fingers on his temples and began to concentrate on the girl before him. Cyclops was standing right behind Xavier with X-23 nearby. Gambit was curious why she wasn't helping Logan, but as Rogue took up a place by Xavier's side he became more curious about what they were going to do.

oOo

Spyke wrenched his arm back from Logan, while completely in a state of trance. Logan jumped back to the other side of the room as Evan shot another spike at him on autopilot.

Snikt! Snikt!

Logan extended his claws fast enough to slice through the wooden spear. The splinters flew past him in a shower and Spyke circled the Wolverine in the dark room.

"I don't want to hurt you, kid." Logan tried to pacify him but stopped trying when he realised that the Phoenix had full control over him.

"**Y****ou're wrong..." **The Phoenix hissed crossly at him as more spikes shot out at him; Logan missing each one by quick manoeuvres in the tiny space and side stepped closer to where Jean stood.

Logan ignored her statement and spun around to stab her in the abdomen to end the fight. Unfortunately, it was a futile effort as his claws just passed straight through her incorporeal body. It only served to make her laugh louder and more hysterically.

"**Hmm, ****wrong again! What were you going to do, scratch me with your claws?"** She taunted him further. He looked at her and held her gaze stone dead.

"What was I wrong about?" He asked her with sincerity. The fact that he showed an interest in what she thought caught her off guard, but her gaze quickly narrowed on his own.

"**He's not a kid. None of us are..."** She explained to him simply but sharply. Evan had stopped firing in the background so Logan kept the conversation going, almost intrigued by her answer.

"Why does that make you angry?" He reached, but she wasn't buying it and her face changed from bitterness to disgust.

"**Trying to show you care****, Wolverine?"** She bit out at him from the corner of the room. Logan smirked.

"No, I was trying to distract you." He told her flat out as an astral figure grabbed her from behind and yanked her back powerfully.

"**No!"** The Phoenix cried out in Jean's voice to earn sympathy, but it was a cheap effort.

With the sudden distraction, her control over Spyke lessened and broke as he fell to his knees and felt the effects that the blast had on him from earlier. Logan stepped next to him and watched to the astral fight before him play out.

Xavier was pulsing out psychic energy from his astral form in bright magenta jets to try and control Jean. Suddenly, Rogue appeared in flames before him to help Xavier. She was attempting to use Jean's own enhanced powers against her; but Jean was learning and adapting since their last fight. This side of Jean had grown surprisingly strong and was beginning to overpower them both suddenly. Dark energy burst forth from Jean, sending Xavier and Rogue flying back. A dark fire grew from the Phoenix and shot out offensive strikes at Xavier and Rogue. It was nearly all they could do to save themselves.

Wolverine was caught off guard when a hot spike grazed his arm causing him to growl in anger. Spyke was back under Jean's influence and was taking aim for another shot at Logan. The spike shot forth and Logan ducked under its chosen path. He rolled and sprung up next to Spyke to grab him a choke hold from behind, hoping he could to try to subdue him but Evan wasn't going to let it be that easy.

"Gaaagh!" Logan cried out in a mix of surprise and pain as Spyke's entire body erupted in a new level of spikes piercing Logan's body in multiple places. It was not comfortable. Logan struggled to breathe but still tightened his choke hold on Spyke. He wasn't willing to hurt him anymore than he had to stop him, and if he held on for long enough, Spyke would give up. Fortunately and unfortunately for Logan, he had a healing factor that would take care of any injuries he would sustain along the way.

Logan saw Xavier and Rogue struggling against the Phoenix, and could feel his own grip loosening on Evan despite his strength of will. He looked to Rogue's astral form and she looked back.

"If you're... plan-nin' on... do-in' some-thing, Stripes, now... would be a... good... time..." He choked out slowly through the pain, coughing up blood from his punctured lungs. Rogue looked at Evan first, then her eyes locked on Logan's with a glimpse of inspiration before she suddenly vanished, leaving Xavier to deal with the Phoenix alone.

Logan looked on in confusion as Evan started to build strength with each gasp for air...

oOo

Gambit watched Rogue's eyes as they unfocussed and she wobbled briefly. She was back with them again but Xavier was still fighting, evident by the sweat beading on his brow.

"Rogue?" Gambit walked up next to Rogue but stopped talking when he saw her eyes quickly darting from Xavier. He was still fighting the Phoenix, and loosing. Rogue looked to Jean's monitors in her and then back to Jean. It was like her eyes were debating some internal struggle. Rogue was about to cross one of those lines, and Gambit could see it clearly. Rogue looked sadly at Scott, and then nodded to Laura in front of him. Laura could see in her eyes too and nodded back. Sensing that something bad was about to happen, Scott's brow furrowed.

"What are you going to d-?" Scott tried but saw Rogue become engulfed in bright flames that would act as a shield and walk in to Jean's room; easily walking through the dark shield like it was nothing. The speed of the circling objects around Jean sped up to divert Rogue but they were easily diverted around Rogue by a similar telekinesis. One or two larger objects made their way to strike Rogue hard but at the last second, each item was vaporised at an atomic level before they could hit Rogue.

Rouge got closer to Jean and reached out a glowing gloved hand to Jean's face, pushing hard against the dark fiery shield that was growing around Jean's skin, just to make contact. Scott, by now, had figured out what she was going to do

"Wait, no! What are you doing?" Rogue heard Scott cry out but pushed through and reached down through the resistance to pinch Jean's nose and cover her mouth wholly with one hand and press down to smother her.

oOo

Logan felt the spikes withdraw from his body and felt Spyke go limp in his hold. He looked up and saw the fire around the Phoenix fading. Her eyes widened as she realised something was wrong. She grabbed her mouth and throat and started to gasp in panic for air, which, in the astral plane, would serve her no good.

She looked to Xavier and then her eyes narrowed on Wolverine's. She lunged forward for him with every ounce of psychic energy she had left but a bright shield sprung up in front of Logan and her energy struck it, but did not penetrate.

Xavier's sudden shield saved Logan from the Phoenix's desperate attempt as she shrunk in size and power. Xavier's energy surrounded her and subdued her. When he got close enough to place his hand on her head he whispered to her.

"Forgive me, Jean." The contact caused the scene to dissolve before Logan's eyes and they disappeared without a trace.

oOo

"No!" Scott lunged forward in the corridor towards Jean but he was shoved back by Laura effectively. Gambit ran over to help Laura restrain him, more as a gesture of faith in Rogue than a genuine effort to help Laura. Even if Scott was let go, he would not have made it past Jean or Rogue's shields. Scott was forced to watch on, held back by the stronger arms of Gambit, as Rogue choked the life out of his girlfriend in a coma.

But Rogue sensed the change in Jean and Xavier and it was over, for now. She quickly withdrew her hand before she had caused any permanent damage to Jean and rejoined Xavier's efforts in containing the Phoenix while they had the upper hand, so to speak.

Scott's struggle diminished as he watched Jean's lips slowly go from purple to pink and the dark fiery shield fade to nothing and the object stop floating. Laura observed Jean's O2 sats increase to normal levels, leaving Gambit to stare at Rogue and Xavier trying to piece together everything that had happened but only coming up with more questions in the quest.

As everyone stood in silence, the footsteps of another young mutant came to the door.

He looked into one room containing a slightly singed Brad Saunders and Kurt Wagner, the elf whom he had just left upstairs, and then looked his brother who was being held back by an equally singed Gambit and the feral girl. He spotted that Rogue and Xavier had returned and that they were concentrating very hard on Jean at that moment.

All in all, Alex's eyebrows hit his hairline limit with surprise at the scene, realising that he had missed quite a bit in the last few minutes. Not knowing how to break the silence he just went back to his original intention for coming down here.

"Am, can I help anyone with... anything?" He asked lamely as many faces turned to him, each raising one eye brow in response.

**En****d of Chapter 46**

A.N. I'm back, Rogue's back, Wolvie and the Prof are back! We're all back! How much did you miss us? Leave me a review!

~Rí


	47. Chapter 47

**A.N. Over 25,000 hits! Thank you, guys! You're the best! **

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**RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 4****7**

Logan had Spyke's arm pulled over his shoulder and supported most of their combined weight as they limped back to where the masses waited. Logan steered them around the corner.

"Oh my stars and garters!" Hank declared in a loud whisper seeing the sight of them; Logan's clothes had random holes pierced through his jeans and shirt from his efforts restrain Spyke before. Although the skin looked healed, it was obvious that the wounds must have been quiet unpleasant.

Evan's appearance was another matter. The Beast hadn't seen Evan since his return to the Institute, but he was certain he didn't look as bad when he had arrived. Evan's breathing was shallow, and his eyes were unfocussed.

"Professor, what happened?" Hank and Logan heard Ororo's voice at the other end of the hallway; fortunately, they were out of sight of the weather witch. They both knew it would not be good for Storm to get angry or upset about Evan. Her nature towards most people was mostly very calm and in control no matter the situation, but with Evan, despite her best intentions, things were always a bit more unpredictable and volatile.

Hank nodded to Wolverine and Evan was handed over to the furry Beast to be moved to an examination room. As soon as he touched Evan's skin, he could immediately sense that the boy had a fever. Given the description he had received about what had happened in Saunders' cell and the knowledge he had gained on the effects of the poison, this was not a good sign.

Laura watched out of the corner of her eye as the Beast and the spiky one disappeared into one of the exam rooms. She sniffed the air and could sense more mutants in that direction.

Logan made his way over to where everyone was standing, outside of the room where Jean was. Laura looked into the room and then to Logan, before silently moving past him to follow the line Hank went. Logan turned back to see Ororo peering over the crowd looking for her nephew. Scott was impatiently pacing a tiny path in the corridor waiting for some nod of approval as the room remained silent.

He had the floor worn as this inexplicable anger built up within him. Scott stopped walking the same pattern and turned to enter the room, but someone grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Bro." Alex told, and Scott sighed angrily.

"All I've been doing is waiting!" Scott bit out his misdirected anger to his brother. Logan looked into the room and saw Rogue and Xavier, meditating next to Jean's bed and needing to concentrate. Logan turned back to Cyclops.

"With all that practice, Slim, you should be better at it." Logan growled out an order of patience and moved past everyone roughly, but all the while taking care not to rip any of the very thin, new skin that he was growing over various spots on his body. A red glint sparked behind Scott's glasses as he watched Logan walking away, but he instantly cooled off when he heard the approaching sound of the crowd Laura and Logan had rescued.

oOo

"This will help." The Beast sighed, handing him the Morlock elixir for LDX poisoning coupled with dissolved acetaminophen after he had completed his exam on Spyke for a concussion. Spyke frowned groggily at the solution.

"What is it?" He asked, suspicious of his old teacher's motives.

"It's a more concentrated version of what your friends were giving you." Beast explained to Spyke watching a glimmer of optimism fade away.

"So, it's not a cure." Spyke stated rather than asked, but the Beast saw something in the corridor through the window blinds that distracted him.

"No, but it does help." Hank told him, indicating for him to drink up. He looked to Jubilee at the door as people started to filter in to the wing from the jet. "And we're going to need a lot more of it."

oOo

The Professor's eyes finally opened and he wheeled back from Jean's bedside feeling a hundred years old. Scott tensed and was about to move forward, but saw that the Professor was coming to him instead.

Xavier looked up and down the corridor, where his other students were shuffling the human lab rats that Laura and Logan had rescued from DC into an order according to level of health while Jubilee and Hank struggled to recreate enough of their elixir to help all of them.

As Xavier gathered what had happened in Washington from the waves of psychic distress these fragile people were sending out, he picked up on Scott's stressing over Jean and silently judged him for ignoring the people around him. Xavier was quick not to let it show, as he felt that he was in no position to judge anyone's actions, seeing Jean's current state.

"Scott, you should be assisting the others." Xavier gently put to his student.

"But Jean-" The Professor cut him off, already knowing what he would say.

"Doesn't even know that you are here." He ended for him. "I would recommend occupational therapy to keep your mind distracted." Scott's head turned to the chaos around him but locked back to Jean, where Rogue was standing over her still. Something churned in the pit of his stomach while the Professor kept trying with him. "I will be requiring assistance with Mr. Saunders later." Scott tuned into the conversation fully this time.

"Why? What's happening with him?" Scott frowned at the Professor.

"He needs to return to California." The Professor said gravely.

"What?" Scott shouted, causing a few bustling victims and students to jump.

"I will gain as much information as possible from him, but then his memory will be altered before he returns." Scott was in disbelief, showing that he was still following current affairs.

"Professor, he is a criminal!" Scott shouted.

"As are we, Scott." Xavier indicated to the room where Duncan Matthews was resting, implying the damage done in L.A. and Rochester at their hand. He didn't say it out loud, but he was also thinking of the events that had transpired in Washington with that. "The Xavier Institute is not above the law."

Laura suddenly felt too close to the conversation from where she stood down the corridor and backed around the corner outside of the Beast's lab and disappeared into it.

"And Jean...?" Scott asked fearfully; surely the Professor knew that none of what had happened was really her fault?

"I'm not sure, Scott, but I'm sure Jean will-" Scott turned away from the Professor to look at Jean, but his eyes landed on Rogue who was still deep in concentration, working on Jean. Scott looked to the bandages around Jean's abdomen and recalled her almost choking the life out of Jean only a little while ago.

"What about Rogue?" Scott snapped at him. Xavier was a little taken aback by his tone, and couldn't figure out what to say.

"What about Rogue?" Rogue asked, looking directly at Scott from Jean's bedside, anger pouring out from her; using Jean's abilities to help Jean left her telepathy active, she could see exactly what Scott was thinking about of her. She saw that he was clearly still deciding on whether or not to finish his thoughts out loud; but it didn't matter – Rogue had already seen what he was thinking, but she still wanted him to say these things out loud for all to hear. "Come on, Scott; what about me?" She hissed at him as she walked right up to him. He didn't back down, and instead, strengthened his stance.

"You stabbed Jean." He told her in a low tone. Xavier was about to defend Rogue when Scott kept going, getting progressively louder as he accused her. "You're responsible for half the damage in Rochester."

Rogue stayed silent as Scott started shouting at her. He mistook the look on her face as anger to mirror his own; but what he didn't realise was that it was hurt. The hurt was amplified by the fact that Jean's personality, the one who loved Scott, was at the forefront of her mind and was suffering a worse beating.

"You lied to us." Scott hissed as she made to step past him, but he blocked her way. "All you've done since you came back was lie to us!"

Again she tried to go around him before her anger melted into a torrent of tears caused by her inner version of Jean. She had to focus on someone else if didn't want to break down.

"Scott, that's enough!" Xavier tried to calm Scott down but it fell on deaf ears.

"All lies and secrecy; what else are you hiding from us?" Scott outright accused her, all eyes on them in the corridor.

Rogue felt herself losing control of her emotions and shoved Jean back deep into the recesses of her mind and quickly focussed on Shadowcat's persona; an upbeat personality to help her cope with the emotions.

She sidestepped away from Scott and phased straight through the wall to the corridor in a desperate attempt to get away from him, to get away from everyone. In her hurry, Rogue didn't know that there was someone else on the other side of the wall; both women screamed as Rogue phased through her and was forced to absorb a new personality...

oOo

_A few moments earlier..._

"Fascinating!" The Beast exclaimed as Laura quietly entered the room. She almost turned to leave when she saw that the Beast was attending to the young blonde woman they saved from Washington. She had her sleeve of her fresh X-man tracksuit rolled up to above the crook of her elbow. She looked like she had taken advantage of the facilities on the X-jet while in transit and had cleaned up to look alive again. Sitting in front of her, clearly astonished by something, was the big blue Beast. He was holding up a syringe for a blood sample, and when Laura looked closer, she could see that the needle had been broken off by the girl's skin.

"Sorry..." Jan wanted to be polite and tried not to stare at him, her eyes darted awkwardly around the room in every which way but his. Laura decided to stay after all when she saw how flighty the girl looked with Hank.

"That's alright; I suppose we don't need a sample..." Hank threw away the broken pieces and looked back to Jan. He was about to ask her a few more questions but she spoke first.

"Can I go? I feel fine, and I'd like to check on my friends." She asked the Beast paused before nodding. It was only fair, as she had probably been through enough clinical studies to last her a lifetime.

"We can talk later." She nodded and hopped down to find Ryan and Zara. She walked past Laura with a little courtesy nod. The Beast sighed at her departure and looked at the broken needle in the biohazard bin.

"This compound, just when I think that I understand how it works, I learn something else about it that disproves all my theories!" He said crossly, more to himself than to Laura, but he figured that it helps to say things out loud to someone so it's technically not talking to yourself. Laura walked over to him.

He looked up to her, when she stood silently in front of him. She looked at him, slightly holding her breath. He raised his eyebrows at her, rather than risk saying something to set her off or scare her off. She sighed audibly and reached behind her back. She pulled up the back of her top with one hand and pulled out an item that had been tucked in to the top of her pants at the belt.

She landed the document in front of him and the Beast looked at it like it was a mirage before slowly picking it up like it was made of gold leaf. The Beast was stunned into silence by the report before him and by Laura. He looked up at her in an interesting mix of disbelief and gratefulness, which didn't sit well with Laura at all, she was afraid he would hug her or something.

"H-how?" He stuttered as he flicked through the pages of Dr. Essex's report; the shock beginning to wear off.

"You don't need to know." She told him with finality as they both heard two screams from the corridor...

oOo

Janette closed the door of Beast's lab behind her and wandered around the corner. She knew that they had put Ryan and Zara down at the other end of the wing but a sudden argument in the middle of the corridor stopped her from passing. She stopped outside someone else's room and looked in just in case they had moved one of her friends.

She recognised the man in the bed; he was unconscious though and hooked up to monitors all around him. It took her a minute to remember, but suddenly a stab of guilt hit in the pit of her stomach – the recent pain that she was able to associate clearly with the loss of one of her best friends, Esther.

She froze in the corridor as she stared at the boy that she drunkenly betrayed the trust of her friend to; the seemingly nice boy who, within hours, was responsible for selling them out to a mad scientist and her trained team of thug-like soldiers. She couldn't believe that he was here.

As she stood there, oblivious to the crescendo of the voices down the hall, she wasn't prepared for the most painful experience of her life as Rogue phased through her.

Both women screamed piercingly as Rogue ripped through the girl with the newly invulnerable skin. For Jan, the pain was short lived as she was quickly drained of all of her energy. Rogue phased through her and landed in a heap on the other side of the corridor as Jan mirrored her, then fainted.

"Rogue!" Someone down the corridor called out as they rushed towards her. Rogue got to kneeling position and grabbed her head like it was about to explode. "Stay away from me!" She screamed at them as the tears poured down her cheeks. The emotions she was trying to avoid with Scott were nothing like how she felt now. The memories flooded her mind...

_She__ had a brother that was a mutant and was beaten badly by some boys from home – her parents did nothing. _

_Rogue remembered meeting Esther the first week of college in Rochester. She was older than her and starting her post-grad__. She was her new housemate._

_Esther again; thousands of memories and glimpses and impressions right up until she was murdered the night Rogue told everything to Duncan Matthews. The pain of it hurt beyond belief._

_She remembered the attack on the house, and Esther trying to save them all even after she learned that her best friend betrayed her confidence to a stranger.__.. _

There was another mutant there; Jan didn't know, but Rogue knew it was Laura...

_She was thrown into a cell and experimented on by an evil vindictive woman, Dr. Natasha Essex. _

_She was thrown into another cell and left to rot all alone until another person was thrown into the cell next to hers. _

_He was in pain but strong throughout; at first she was trying to distract him from what he was going through while distracting herself__ from her guilt and sadness, but it quickly changed to something more for both of them. It was exciting and hopeless. _

_M__ore mutants came along, including Zara, in the same predicament as her. _

_Rogue couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Angel, beaten to a bloody pulp. It was a true symbol of the capacity of evil that these people were capable of. _

_He wasn't rescued – the mad doctor took him. _

_The man with the claws came and freed them, but Ryan lost control. _

_Jan was freed and almost made to help him when she was shot..._

Rogue screamed as she tried to stop these memories by ending her claws, but it wasn't going to be that easy a fix. Jan's newly developed powers wouldn't allow Rogue's claws to pierce her skin. Without that basic control tool that Rogue had come to rely on, Rogue was lost.

Rogue struggled to tame Jan's memories as other personalities became unhinged by the invader among them, and they wanted the invader out.

Jan was a sitting duck next to Rogue as other powers started to surface. Scott advanced but was blasted backwards by his own optic blasts from Rogue. Xavier was ported out of harm's way by Kurt; Laura emerged around the corner and dragged Jan away from Rogue. Laura quickly handed Jan off to the waiting Beast before turning back to try and control Rogue.

Something in Rogue sensed her approach; Rogue's eyes flashed yellow. The metal door frames around her were dented out by an invisible sphere. Laura felt it in her arms and legs before it hit her and suddenly, she was sent flying back like Scott but by the metal lacing some of her bones. No one tried to approach Rogue again; all they could do was watch.

Rogue grabbed her head tight and tried to shake the voices out. Flames flickered around her and died down at random. Some of the flames became full shapes of fire, others froze in the air to fall and shatter on the ground as ice. Part of her skin turned to metal, some turned blue and the flames whipped up around her. Thunder clouds started to gather outside over the mansion as bolts shot up and down the corridor. She started to hear a mass of thoughts that weren't her own and she couldn't distinguish between the ones in her head and the ones around her.

"No!" Rogue cried out defiantly as she pulled herself up with tremendous effort and staggered in the corridor with vertigo.

"Rogue!" Kurt cried out to her. She looked at him with determination through glowing red eyes and tear soaked cheeks. She stood up straight amidst the chaos and frowned in anticipated pain, never loosing eye contact with her brother. She thrust her arms out and downwards on either side of her.

Snikt! Snikt!

**En****d of Chapter 47**

A.N. Will I see a cascade of reviews to feedback on the control of this chaos? How many more control puns can I put in one sentence...? Yeah, okay, I need to start leaving work on time...

~Rí


	48. Chapter 48

**A.N. You know what? It has been a year since I started this story! Crazy, eh? Way back then, I thought chapter one was going to be a one-shot and I was still figuring out how the site worked! My laptop doesn't know what hit it this past year; one moment it was crashing from way too heavy Excel Books all running calculations for me, then the next it was storing 48 chapters and a master file for the story - not to mention all the little facts about all the things in this story! **

**And YOU! Yeah, you! So many new people sharing their opinions on the story and leaving wonderful reviews! Thanks for reading; you're the best! R&R!RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 4****8**

"His memory has been adjusted." The short, hunched man informed the tall blue-skinned woman. They looked in through the one-way mirror and observed their subject already working in somewhat of a trance state as his arm robotically shifted according to the desired use for his creation, which was already beginning to take shape.

"You are proving to be most helpful, Mastermind. I can see why Magneto had his uses for you." She complimented the man she was earlier blackmailing into cooperation. "How long will your control over him last?" Mystique asked. Jason Wyngarde looked up to the shape shifter and sighed uncertainly.

"He is only under a small amount of control; it's mostly just a mild illusion and the impression that his work is crucial. The less we do to control him at this stage, the better." Mystique nodded and stared in through the window with a fixed look of determination and hopeful at the promise of power.

"Remember that this will be a collaborative effort." She told him, giving him warning that he would need to be able to coerce two people at the same time. Behind where they were standing, the door clicked open.

"What the hell are you doing? I pay you super powered freaks to protect me from that censorship-mad mob, and you drag me off to this underground sh-" The shouting was stopped. At the sound of the door Mystique transformed into Ms. Dion, lest she be seen in her real skin. Two young men walked in dragging in another. They had easily over powered the third at her request.

Lance and Pietro had Arcade between them, with Lance silencing him with one hand. As soon as the door closed behind him, Pietro released his hold on him, leaving Lance to control him, which wasn't taxing. Lance saw past him into through the two-way mirror to Forge and the contraption he was working on; Pietro was right – it was starting to resemble the Cerebro interface.

"Ms. Dion; what is going on?" Webber spat out against the muffling hand of one of his employees. No one said anything, instead Mastermind stepped a little closer to Arcade to get a read of the state of his mind. Arcade frowned at the man approaching him. "And who is this?" Ms. Dion smiled.

"I am someone who, in a few moments, will become just a figment of your imagination." Wyngarde told him as he placed his hands on either side of Webbers face to probe his mind.

oOo

She crept along the hallway, knowing full well that she shouldn't be there, but the curiosity was killing the Shadowcat.

She paused by one of the front windows briefly to stare at the crowd that had gathered at the front gates. The crowd was made up of all reporters and camera crews broadcasting a live feed of the Institute for 'Gifted' Youngsters to their respective networks and blogs. Kitty sighed wondering how they were going to handle that problem. She turned away and kept walking, deciding that someone else can worry about that one.

Kitty came to an abrupt halt outside the door of interest. She put her hand on the door handle and tried to open the door but found that it was stuck. She frowned at it and jiggled the handle resulting in Kitty losing her focus on her stealth mode.

"Katya?" Kitty spun around at the mention of her uniquely offered pet name and came face to chest with the muscular form of Piotr Rasputin, who was alarmingly close behind her; yet strangely not alarming to Kitty. Kitty was surprised, for such a big guy he was really light on his feet.

"Piotr!" Kitty exclaimed in high-pitched tone, as she spun Colossus put out a hand to steady her but instead caught her red-handed.

"My apologies if I frightened you." Piotr humbly asked for forgiveness yet still looked around Kitty to the door she was trying to access. His hand fell away from her immediately. "You were looking for Forge." He stated, sounding slightly dejected. Kitty picked up on it immediately.

"No! I mean, yeah... Am, I was looking for Forge but I wasn't, like, _looking_ for Forge." She attempted to clarify, which only confused the Russian further; but fortunately her blush translated. Piotr nodded with a small, understanding smile. "Am, he's not in the mansion and I was just checking if there was any sign of him here; of, like, where he might've gone, you know?" Kitty explained, still flustered.

"And you did not find anything?" Piotr asked with his eyebrow raised expectantly.

"No; well, I haven't looked; the door's locked." Kitty explained to him, but he gave her a half-raised-eyebrow look that made her think that Piotr had been spending too much time with Tabitha before the penny dropped for Kitty. "Oh, right!" She rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. "Like, duh!" She said to herself and wrapped a hand around Piotr's wrist and pulled them both through the locked door by phasing.

"Oh!" Kitty exclaimed as they emerged on the other side of the door. Kitty was hoping to see some obvious evidence of Forge's hurried departure; a hastily pulled apart dresser, an unmade bed, haphazard items strewn across the room that didn't quite make it into the rushed suitcase packing that would conveniently explain Forge's sudden disappearance... a note might have been wishful thinking – especially given that the door was locked. To Kitty's great disappointment, however, the entire room was in disarray.

Kitty didn't know if Forge's room had been ransacked and trashed or if this was the normal chaos that Forge lived in. She sighed in defeat and shrank a little to Piotr, to whom she was still holding on to.

"His room is like his mind, yes? It only makes sense to him." Piotr attempted to lighten the mood for Kitty. He looked down at her. "You were expecting of him to leave, maybe, a note?" Piotr asked her quietly. Kitty frowned hopelessly before turning to him and nodding.

"I know, like, totally crazy." She said to his chest, refusing to look him in the eye for fear of amplifying her embarrassment. Piotr brushed the back of his fingers on one hand along her cheekbone, causing her look at him in response.

"You are concerned. That is not crazy." Kitty, for once in her life, couldn't think of anything to say. There was a pause where Piotr was trying to read her.

"You have suspicions." Colossus stated finally.

Kitty frowned, wondering how he could have possibly known that she was questioning Gambit's reasons for joining them at the mansion. Colossus felt the need to elaborate.

"You think that Forge has left or was made to leave?" Kitty nodded and so did Piotr. There was a long pause before Piotr spoke again, like he was making up his mind about something. Whatever he was thinking, he decided with another nod. "Then you will be needing help finding him." He informed her, the back of his fingers and thumb moving along her jaw line before his hand fell away from her face completely.

Kitty took a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Am, yeah, totally!" She agreed a little too enthusiastically to Piotr's proposal and knew it. She caught herself though. "But if he left of his own free will, I can't think of a reason why he would go and not tell us." Piotr thought about it for a moment.

"He is proud?" Piotr asked her, thinking out loud.

"You mean, if he was in trouble, would he tell us?" Kitty followed Piotr's train of thought and already knew the answer. "He wouldn't. He doesn't really talk a lot, unless it's, like, about machines and stuff. I mean, I didn't know he was in MIT, let alone working with Arcade..." Kitty thought, thinking if any of this could possibly related to Arcade and his new game, and Lance for that matter. It was too much of coincidence not to be connected in Kitty's opinion, and even if it had nothing to do with Forge, it was still something worth checking out. But how did Gambit fit in?

"C'mon!" Kitty took Piotr's hand in hers and pulled him towards the door to phase through it once more. Colossus stepped in front of her though and reached for the door knob with his free hand. With a click, he unlocked the door and pulled it aside for Kitty to pass through... the normal way.

"You didn't want to phase?" She enquired, looking up at him with interest.

"I am still getting used to this new feeling." He tried to verbalise to her. She understood and walked through the door he opened for her.

"Me too." She said to herself, her hand still in his. Piotr closed the door behind him as a few small trinkets scattered around the room came to life briefly before dying down again...

oOo

"_Rogue!" Kurt cried out to her. She looked at him with determination through glowing red eyes and tear soaked cheeks. She stood up straight amidst the chaos and frowned in anticipated pain, never loosing eye contact with her brother. She thrust her arms out and downwards on either side of her._

_Snikt! Snikt!_

Kurt watched on as Rogue's bone claws burst forth from their tougher-than-usual skin housing and the world slowed down.

Rogue's exposed skin faded from blue to white and metallic sections dissolved into her once more. The ice on the ground melted and the fire died down. The rumble of thunder throughout the mansion softened and disappeared until all that could be heard was the laboured breathing of Rogue. Everyone else was deathly silent.

Rogue stood strong, her claws out on either side of her; her chest rising and falling rhythmically. She was staring in Kurt's direction, but he was the only one who could see that she was not actually looking at him. She was staring into the space between them; her eyes were slightly out of focus with a hint of a red glow still remaining but fading too. Kurt frowned wondering why it was taking so long for Scott's powers to fade back, or perhaps she was struggling with Gambit's.

Her eyes refocused and were back to green once more. Kurt took it as a sign to approach safely; he was the only one brave enough to walk up to her. She looked at him with a slight frown, worry or fear he couldn't tell, but there was something at the root of it. Xavier wheeled in closer to the two while most of the mansion and some of the people that were rescued were watching from a safe distance.

"Rogue?" Xavier asked her, his voice full of concern, and warmth.

"Ah'm fine." Rogue said quickly, roughly wiping at her cold damp face with the sleeve of her shirt. She tried to hide her sad eyes from everyone, but people were staring at her in every direction she looked. She suddenly felt very exposed.

"Perhaps you should rest?" Xavier prompted, offering her an exit from the uncomfortable situation. Kurt instantly offered a fuzzy blue hand to take her to her room, but she flinched away from it ever so slightly.

"Am, Ah'd rather walk." She told him quickly and made to go past her brother. She turned her head to him, eyes on the floor all the while. "Thanks." She whispered to him shyly, thanking him for more than just the offer to bring her to her room.

She walked straight through the crowd easily as they pulled back to glue themselves to the walls presenting her with enough room for a small parade float to pass. However, she didn't take insult at their reaction. After all, they were right; she was dangerous...

oOo

He watched her moving about from his now quiet, dark corner. She was peaceful in her work and determined. She would spend hours moving back and forth, purifying solutions and testing them in other things. He had given up shouting long ago, and had settled for observation, waiting for his chance for freedom from his bindings.

He had figured out her routine. She made something, she documented it, she tested it and then she made a decision. She decided if it had potential or not.

Anything that had potential, she kept...

oOo

The sound of people's breath was the only thing that could be heard in the corridor after Rogue's departure. The eerie silence was broken when Xavier's chair activated to zoom past everyone. He looked directly to Scott.

"Come with me." The Professor ordered Cyclops, his voice unusually cold. Tabitha watched as Scott began to pick himself up from the floor where he had been since Rogue had blasted him back. Kurt made to follow Rogue, past where Scott was and stopped in front of him. Scott instinctively held out his hand to his friend to help him up, but Kurt didn't offer his. Scott looked up to Kurt's face.

"Not cool, mann." Nightcrawler chastised him for being so heartless to his sister, and kept walking. Scott hung his head for a moment in shame as Kurt continued past him. He pulled himself up instead. Tabitha and others avoided eye contact with him. She went to help move the girl Rogue had accidentally absorbed. Scott left the corridor just as Ray rounded the corner.

"Whoa, what happened in here?" Ray called out to everyone with a quickly fading smile. He spotted Tabitha and Laura moving a girl by her arms to a bed and picked up the girl's heels to help them. Tabitha indicated to the next room over, which, through the curtains on the window, looked like someone was watching a really bright television show in there. It was in conjunction with a loud cracking sound like lightning.

"Am, is someone watching an extreme nature show in there?" Tabitha smiled at him. "What?"

"You just gave me an idea." She told him vivaciously. His eyebrows rose in question, but Tabitha waved him off. "There's a guy in there trying to control his powers – you might be able to help him."

Ray headed for that particular room and Tabitha went to find someone else.

Laura was suddenly left alone with the helpless girl in a coma. She looked around the room with one eyebrow raised. This girl wasn't going anywhere, but Laura decided she was not a babysitter. She left the room just after Tabitha did.

Tabitha saw Amara in the corridor and stopped her as Laura discretely went elsewhere.

"Hey, have you seen Storm?" Tabitha asked loudly. Amara had to think for a second.

"Am, I think she's talking to Spyke and Hank." Amara was as helpful as she could be. "Why?"

"Cause I just thought of a subtle anti-publicity stunt!" Amara was left to wonder if Tabitha even knew the meaning of the word subtle as she skipped loudly towards Hank's lab.

oOo

She slammed the door closed behind her. She was so upset and annoyed and frustrated, it was infuriating. She wanted to scream, but instead she exhaled slowly and fell back against the door as she did so. Rogue closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands and white locks. She would stay like this, just for a moment, until she figured out her next move.

She stayed there thinking for a few moments. She thought back briefly about the new information that she had accidentally added to her collective for Jan. She thought about how she had reacted to having to absorb a new person. She sighed angrily. She knew she had to do something, the thought of just staying here and doing nothing wasn't an option that she was willing to consider. With that, she was decided.

She flicked up her head, pushed herself off from the door and went to her wardrobe. She opened it, grabbed the small sports bag from the very bottom and threw it on to her bed. As soon as it landed it was bombarded by the few essential items she decided she might need. She wasn't long bundling everything up in to the bag in a hurried shuffle before zipping up the bag decisively. Rogue looked around her room for anything else that she might want close to hand where ever she was going. She went to her dresser for an extra pair of gloves and then remembered something. Her eyes widened as she realised that something was missing.

She dropped the bag and dashed around her room for the item in question. She pulled apart the drawers and shelves in search of it but she couldn't find it. She pulled back the duvet on her bed and knelt on it to look under the pillows. However, all of the noise she was making had drawn attention.

"You need a hand with dat, Cherie?" Rogue's head snapped around from examining under her pillows to see Remy LeBeau leaning against her door frame with a grin. Armed with only a pillow held high above her head, she looked down at the bed on which she was kneeling on with the violently tugged back sheets. For some reason, she felt oddly at ease with him. She lowered her weapon and resumed her search. He walked over to the edge of her bed and watched with a smirk at her being preoccupied. Where the sheets were pulled back he could see holes in the mattress and sheets in triplicates. Rogue saw him staring at them.

"Ah've had trouble sleepin' from time to time." She told him quietly. Gambit smiled a roguish grin at the Rogue.

"You need a hand with dat?" He got a face full of pillow for his comment and she rolled her eyes at him. He stifled a laugh. "Is that why you were sneaking out at night?" She shook her head.

"No, I was tryin' to learn how to control my powers." Gambit raised eyebrow and she realised then how close he was.

"Need a hand with d-" He stopped before he finished his sentence because of the look she gave him. It translated as; 'Don't push it, swamp rat.' She shook her head and brought his mind back to his question.

"Ah'm surprised you're not runnin' a mile too." She said to him while she kept looking, but he didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Runnin' from what, Chere?" He asked genuinely as he tossed the pillow back to her.

"Me." She turned to catch it and looked at him, figuring that he mustn't have witnessed the scene below. She shrugged. "Well, that explains it." Gambit became confused and took a few steps closer to her when she hopped off the bed. She elaborated for him. "You weren't down in the basement a little while ago?" She asked him. He decide to recap what he last saw.

"Sure; you came in at the last second, saved your brother and me, took on dat witch for the second time and despite all the odds, you saved us again when no one else could." Rogue sighed, wishing that that was all that had happened. "What happened after dat?" She put back the sheets as she had them before.

"Nothing good." She muttered, and then shook her head. "Doesn't matter, forget I said anything."

"Dat's easy; you didn' say anything." Gambit informed her. When she didn't say anything, he looked around her room at the mess she had made and saw the packed bag on the floor by the door. "You're leaving?" He inquired. She paused briefly in her search and then resumed while she answered him.

"Ah just need some time to think." Gambit accepted her barefaced lie hoping that she might be more open with him later. He nodded though, because he understood the importance of secrecy.

"How's Jean?" She was surprised that he changed the subject but was grateful he did. She crossed in front of him to get to the dressers to check them again.

"The Professor knows what he's doin', the place can survive without me for a little while." She shrugged again at her own insignificance to everything with her back to him when his hands touched her sleeved arms from her wrists to her covered shoulders. His hands came to rest there and squeezed. He whispered in a deep voice to her ear.

"So you'll come back?"

**En****d of Chapter 48**

_A.N. So, I leave ye for weeks at a time and then I end the chapter like that; tell me I'm cruel and evil!_

_Right, I'm off for some fun in the sun for a week - zero laptop. But I shall return! _

_Don't forget to review! (Anniversary review!)_


	49. Chapter 49

**A.N. I'm still here! R&R, RR!  
**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!**

**Chapter 49**

"Why me, Professor?" Scott asked, half withdrawn to himself. Being chastised for half an hour by the nearest person to a father to you can have that effect.

"I think you will regain perspective, something which many of us have lost recently." Xavier told him firmly and compassionately.

Scott let go of the mantelpiece above the fire place in Xavier's study. His hand dropped heavily to his side as guilt plagued him, over many things. The rose quartz glasses had finally come off and he was able to see what was going on around him. He still refused to believe that Jean was truly responsible for anything that had happened, but he could no longer deny the logic that she could not be trusted. He came to terms with it and decided to support the Professor's decisions for Jean well being and remove himself from the equation.

"Take the Blackbird and recruit who you need, but we have a lot of distressed people that need our help here, I would suggest that you choose keeping the mission in mind." Scott straightened himself up and concentrated solely on Xavier's orders; blind trust in Xavier was all Scott could trust in at the moment, though standing tall, he doubted his decision making skills at this point. He nodded and turned to leave thinking of people with the best offensive powers.

"Scott," Xavier halted him before going out the door. "Trust that you are a good leader, you just need to stay objective." Scott paused but dipped his head once more before leaving, acknowledging that he had heard him.

Xavier moved behind his desk to take a moment to recollect his thoughts but his thoughts were interrupted by someone else's.

"Ahh, Kitty – _not so loud; what's wrong?"_ Xavier communicated telepathically to the urgent girl with his hand to his temples.

"_Sorry Professor, but I was__, like, hoping we could use Cerebro to find Forge – he's not in the mansion."_ Xavier suddenly felt a foreboding feeling. Forge was in the school for his own safety, and under their shared understanding, he would not have left willingly.

"_Of course,__ Kitty. Meet me in Cerebro."_ Then came a knock on the open door to Xavier's office.

"Charles, may I disturb you?" Hank appeared at the door with a bound report clutched in his hands and an unusually optimistic look, which Xavier dampened in one quick sentence.

"Forge is missing."

oOo

Tabitha and Amara walked into the recreation room where a few of the younger students had gathered – well, more accurately, a few of the younger student. Five or six Jamies were occupying most of the seats in the living area and were flicking between news stations on the television, tuning between radio stations and browsing news websites on the shared computer in the corner. Tabitha cleared her throat to announce their presence.

"Hey, Jamie; seen the news lately?" She asked sarcastically with a smile but if was not reflected in any of the duplicates.

"They're just out there, hovering, we can't do anything!" Her answered back with genuine worry written across his face.

"Don't worry, kid, I have a feeling they're about to run out of steam." Tabitha picked up one of the remotes to flick to a news station showing a live feed of the mansion.

"_The controversy has led us to here, after-"_

oOo

"-the recent attacks on a hospital in Washington DC-"

"-death of well-known entrepreneur, Guy Spears has kicked off a major investigation into the behaviours of these organisations-"

"If you have just tuned in, we are coming to you live from outside the Xavier Institute for 'gifted' youngsters – the home of an alleged vigilante group who call themselves the 'X-men'-"

Various networks and online channel reporters recorded their clips and sound bites for their stations, huddled as close as possible to the front gates and walls of the Institute and trying to get their clear shot through the gate bars. The police were there to ensure things didn't get out of hand as anti-mutant demonstrators trickled in shouting hate messages, mixed in with ordinary people who wished to share their judgement on the incident in DC, having condemned the X-men after deciding that they had heard all they had needed to hear from the media to complete the trial in their minds.

Every person there was uploading their point of view on the situation via any media available to them.

"Hey, Mike?" One of the general public members elbowed his buddy to get his attention.

"Yeah?" Mike replied, busy re-attempting to upload his latest 'Tweet' on his phone but struggling to do so in the last minute.

"Do you have a signal on your phone? I knew I should've upgraded this piece of crap last week..." Mike looked up from his phone for the first time since taking his most recent picture of the mansion.

"Actually, no. And we're with different networks..." He said more to himself as he looked around. The news crews had stopped recording one by one as they began to realise that there was a problem with their equipment. The camera and sound people were trying to explain how it wasn't their fault as their individual crew members were trying to explain the same to their reporter. Each crew was lost in their own frustration and difficulties that they didn't notice the other stations struggling with the same problems.

Kra-KA BOOM!

Thunder rolled out above and around the area, sounding out the impending rain fall. People looked up, not having noticed the clouds gathering until now. In the mad rush to protect their equipment and themselves from the audible down pour that was about to hit, no one found the change in the weather peculiar.

The members of the mob that were not affiliated with the press were ill equipped to handle the rain as it came bucketing down and were forced to disperse and go home. The news crews attempted to reconnect to a signal to upload but were having little success and retreated to their vans trying to upload their footage from the shelter they found there. Remaining clung to the gate were only the few who believed themselves to be hard core plus a few members of the paparazzi who had journeyed here and refused to leave without a front page shot, but even all of their digital cameras were unable to get a decent shot.

Floating high in the sky, invisible among the clouds was the weather witch, Ororo Munroe, subtly wreaking havoc on the media, blocking their signals with a healthy sized electrical storm that she was gently building and sustaining with her mutant abilities. The effects of the storm focussed on the perimeter of the grounds but to an outsider looking in, it would appear the mansion was receiving the same down pour. The only exception between the media and the mansion was that the mansion was not getting any of the electrical effects that the others were getting. Storm had to give praise to Tabitha as the fog started to roll in; this was a very clever idea...

oOo

_"The Professor knows what he's doin', the place can survive without me for a little while." She shrugged again at her own insignificance to everything with her back to him when his hands touched her sleeved arms from her wrists to her covered shoulders. His hands came to rest there and squeezed. He whispered in a deep voice to her ear._

_"So you'll come back?"_

Rogue couldn't stop the shiver and goosebumps that came over her skin. She would have melted into him there and then, if her mutation would have allowed it. Rogue was well aware of the effect he could have on women, although her perspective on that subject was through his own red glowing eyes due to the copy of him she had absorbed in a previous encounter. Being on the receiving end, however, was a different experience, proving to be a distraction that she couldn't help but welcome. But it soon turned bitter in her mind. It served as a painful reminder to all the things she could never have, or deserve to have.

She let herself get distracted and day dream a life where she was a completely different person; she wasn't someone who had to keep herself hidden from the world or someone who was forced to keep everyone at arm's length, a life where she wasn't a mutant and didn't have to struggle just to hear her own thoughts. She wished her life wasn't loaded down with this great power that needed great responsibility, responsibility was tiring.

Thinking about his question and the weight that it held and the weight of her life, she leaned back in to him slightly; this man was an absolute devil, but then again, she was no-

"Angel?" Rogue gasped, spinning around in Gambit's arms to face him. Rogue's sudden burst of energy took him by surprise; Gambit was confused.

"Wait, Worthin'ton?" She nodded, staring into the space between him like she was trying to remember a dream. He felt the need to encourage her. "What about him, chere?" Her eyes danced like she was speed reading.

"She has him, Ah don't where, but she has 'im somewhere..." She held onto his upper arms, her fingers tightened in fear.

"Who, chere?" He squeezed her by the shoulders to stop her getting lost in the memory she was clearly replaying.

"That girl, Janette; she saw 'em. They carried him away. Ohmahgod, he was really roughed up!" Rogue started to panic.

"Chere, breathe." He commanded in a low tone. "Slow down 'n' tell me what happened." She looked at him and focussed on his red eyes.

"Ah saw it when Ah absorbed her in basement, Ah knew it was him but then Ah was tryin' to gain control again – Ah forgot, Ah can't believe Ah forgot..."

"Shhh, it's okay..." He whispered soothingly using a hand to brush a stray lock of white hair away from her face, careful not to touch her skin. "He was with de mutants in DC?" She nodded and he nodded slowly along with her. "But he didn' come back wit 'em?" She shook her head. He thought over her words, trying his hand at cryptology. "You said: 'She has him', who's is she?" Rogue swallowed.

"She was testin' on 'em like lab rats, Doctor..." Rogue blinked and growled in frustration and turned away from him holding one of her arms. "Ah know it, Ah just can't think of it!" Rogue cursed her memory; there was just too much going on in her head to focus.

"C'mon," Gambit told her taking one of her gloved hands in his, "We'll talk to the Professor." Rogue nodded and let him guide her out of the room; the half packed bag on the floor sat there forgotten.

oOo

Scott walked down the corridor having recruited who he needed to carry out his mission that Xavier had set for him, but there was still something he had to do before he left. He ran up the stairs to the sleeping quarters, jumping two to three steps at a time before he came to an abrupt stop, almost running into Gambit and Rogue who were coming down against him.

"Whoa, mon ami," Gambit voiced at the near collision. Scott held onto the railing at the top of the stairs with one hand and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head with the other while trying to find the words to open a dialogue. Rogue let go of Gambit's hand, bringing to his attention Rogue and Cyclops' avoidance to look at one another; Gambit felt like whatever this was, that it would be easier without his presence. "I'll head down to the Professeur, Cherie." Rogue nodded mutely and Gambit walked down the stairs leaving Scott and Rogue alone.

"Rogue, I..." Scott started but didn't know what to say. Rogue wasn't using Jean's powers any more but still felt stung from earlier. He was the first person she befriended at the Institute, there was a time when she would've done anything for him, but the way he had talked to her had made her question a lot about their relationship.

He still couldn't get out what it was he was trying to say and the silence was making her edgy and uncomfortable.

"Look, Ah don't want to get upset again; it's not safe-" She quietly muttered before he interrupted.

"I'm not here to upset you, Rogue; I want to apologise for what I said." She looked at him with a little surprise and saw her red reflection in his glasses. "You did what you had to, what none of us were willing to do." She rolled her eyes and fidgeted with her gloves.

"Great, so you think Ah'm cold hearted." She read into his words how she would have meant them if she had said them, but Scott was quick to object to his words being taken that way.

"No! No; what I mean is you saw the big picture when I was too stubborn to look." He had both hands on the railing behind him and held tight as he stared at him feet. "I was stressed, but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have taken anything that I was going through out on you."

"That's okay." She just wanted to end the conversation, she was feeling drained and wanted to move on but Scott wanted to drive his point home.

"No, it's not. You've been going through your own stuff, and you never took it out on me." Rogue reluctantly smiled a little.

"Well, Ah did blast ya back into the wall with your own powers..." The pair uttered a few small sounds that sounded like amusement and mixed with the healing of their friendship. Scott let go of the railing.

"I should get going; I've gotta go on a mission for the Prof." Rogue nodded and stopped fidgeting by putting her hands behind her back.

"Right, yeah, of course." Rogue didn't want to delay him or herself any longer. Scott ran down the staircase and stopped at the end to look back up at her.

"We'll talk later?" He asked his friend.

"Sure..." She told him with a small smile that he reciprocated but he felt he didn't deserve before he left.

Rogue took a deep breath. She felt better about things now and a little braver. She closed her eyes and coaxed someone out from the recesses of her mind. In a sudden burst of energy, she was gone.

Gambit hadn't gotten much further before Rogue suddenly appeared at his side; with a breeze, he noted. He turned and looked at her while walking and faced ahead again.

"You're lookin' happier; is dere somethin' I should be worryin' about back dere?" He smiled at her in good humour.

"That depends on what gets ya worried." She replied mischievously. He placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt.

"You're a cruel woman, Cherie." He played along, happy to keep her distracted from herself.

oOo

Xavier placed the Cerebro head gear over his head, Kitty had the unit ready and powered up when he arrived. The Wolverine, the Beast and Colossus, in his metal form, waited by the open doorway as Kitty stood on the platform behind Xavier. The Professor concentrated on Forge and Forge alone.

"He's not far away, but..." Kitty anxiously waited for what the Professor would say. After a brief pause, he sighed. "He's in New York." The Professor turned removing the head gear to face everyone. Kitty got frustrated with his answer very easily.

"Oh, that's like looking for a needle in a haystack!" Kitty exclaimed, her voice suddenly rising a few tones above what would be considered well-mannered.

The Beast and Xavier were nervous too. They didn't know how long Forge had been missing, or who had taken him in the first place. The most disconcerting fact was that it would have been difficult to remove Forge from the Institute if it wasn't an inside job.

"I'll sniff 'im out." Logan declared confidently feeling whole again after his encounter with the Phoenix and a possessed Spyke. He looked between Kitty and Piotr and without even waiting for a response from the Professor; "Half pint, tin man – suit up; you're comin' with me."

Xavier watched and felt that there was something much bigger pulling the strings in this situation that none of them had managed to see just yet. It felt wrong to let them walk in blind. But Logan had good instincts on these matters; Charles was more willing to trust Logan's intuition than his own.

"I'll send you on the co-ordinates." Xavier was unsure how this would all play out, not knowing who had taken Forge. "Logan, remember that there are other people involved in this." Xavier warned the Wolverine.

"We can handle it, Chuck." Logan nodded to the other man, silently communicating that Logan could handle it and that he would look out for the other two. Logan turn towards the direction of the X-chopper but paused when he saw Rogue and Gambit approaching. Rogue saw that Logan wanted to say something to her and broke away from Gambit to talk with him.

Logan's voice was low and quiet.

"That was some display of power, kid." Rogue could tell there was a question in there. In a much lower voice, practically a hum, he listed out what he was referring to. "Rochester, while you were in a coma, with Spyke, the new kid..." He waited for her reaction. An outsider would have thought that he was angry at her, but Rogue knew better.

"Ah'm fine, Logan." Rogue couldn't meet his eyes. "How did you know about the new girl?" Rogue asked, trying to avoid talking about it by talking about it.

"The Elf." Logan answered simply. "Besides, I felt something had happened." He added, referring to her using Magneto's abilities down in the basement previously.

"Right." Rogue replied. They both remained silent for a while, but Rogue was too stubborn to talk about anything and Logan was forced to relent.

"Forge is missing; we're heading to New York to find him." Logan indicated to Kitty and Colossus. Rogue's eyes darted around the room and saw the metallic giant and Kitty, the Beast and Gambit and the Professor at the end of the runway. A quick scan of their impressions told her that this wasn't going to be straight forward.

"Angel is missing too; he was in DC with the others." Before Logan could feel any way about it, Rogue continued on. "He was taken away before you got there; there was probably too much going on to pick up his scent." Logan nodded.

"You're gonna ask the Professor to find him." Logan stated rather than ask, subtly telling her to let Chuck use Cerebro, that she's didn't need to do it herself, even though he knew she probably could use it as good if not better. Rogue agreed silently to let the Professor handle it. "Fill me in on how that goes." Logan indicated to his new communicator.

Rogue nodded. Logan sighed and looked at Gambit.

"And don't hang around with the Swamp Rat too much." Rogue looked up at Logan's words of wisdom before he departed and smiled. Logan rolled his eyes and turned to go to the hangar.

Kitty headed for the doorway to Cerebro where Colossus had hung back to walk with her. Kitty glanced at Gambit at the entrance and looked away again. It wasn't much, but Xavier could feel her suspicions of the Cajun which he knew he wouldn't be able to ignore.

Colossus and Kitty continued on and moved past Logan and a few seconds down the corridor, Colossus interrupted the companionable silence.

"Half-Pint?" He questioned her, to which she replied with a bashful grin.

**En****d of Chapter 49**

_A.N. Miss me much? ~ Rí_


	50. Chapter 50

**_Sheepishly, she crawled back to her fanfiction login page hoping no one would notice the gapingly huge canyon of time that formed between updating chapter 49 to 50; yet, selfishly, she still hoped that she was missed..._**

**Uhm, yeah... Sorry for making anyone wait so long, but I hope ye like the next bit. Let me know what you think - or just say hi! R&R, RR!_  
_**

**Chapter 50**

Kra-KA BOOM! Boom, booBOOM!

The weather witch listened to the juxtaposition of the howling wind and the endless rolling thunder. Moments where she could truly embrace her powers were few and far between. Ororo savoured the glorious feeling like a high functioning addict and attempted to deny her deep longing for something greater.

A thunderous sound, not caused by her antics, erupted from somewhere in the mix and drew her attention. The sound emanated from the sea cliffs and waterfall. She waved a hand and cleared a path in the fog for her vision only. Storm saw the bright exhaust from the X-jet and watched it as the jet turned widely over the water before disappearing. The jet was followed shortly by the X-chopper and it too vanished.

oOo

Kurt looked out the window at the localised weather system that they were leaving behind.

"Mann, Storm sure knows how throw a super cell!" Kurt exclaimed to his general vicinity as he stared at the shrinking image. The jet turned and rose smoothly while piloted by Cyclops with Nightcrawler as his co-pilot. Kurt was quick to forgive his best friend after his fight with Rogue once he had learned that Scott had apologised to his sister. Tensions had been running high in the mansion lately and though he hadn't been happy with what had happened, he truly believed things were better when everything was out in the open.

Scott brought the plane up to the appropriate level in the atmosphere, getting them through the most difficult part of the ascension. He breathed out but not quite fully. Xavier trusted him to carry out the mission with a clear head but he knew he was getting distracted too easily. He couldn't help thinking about Jean. He didn't know what to do or how to help her; he resigned himself to believing that the Professor would know. He had to believed that and he had to focus, so he would take it one step at a time; step one was to fly the plane unnoticed in a state of emergency where all air traffic had been grounded and their jet was on the FAA's most wanted list. Yeah, no big deal...

Alex craned his neck from his seat behind Scott to watch the controls being worked by his brother and Kurt. He was fascinated by it all technically but he was hoping that it would be a short flight; he wasn't all that enthusiastic about air travel since his flight to New York from Hawaii a few weeks earlier. Alex was also a little nervous about the mission; he hadn't had much time to practise fighting alongside the other X-men or in a team, he had mostly been practising with Scott. It made sense for Scott to ask him to go with them; they were going to need a lot of destructive powers on their side to accomplish their task. He just hoped that he would be able to hold his own, or at the very least – not kill anyone.

Bobby was icing up in his seat with misplaced anxiety; his usual routine before any mission was to be buzzing with excitement, but their brief brief from Scott had informed them that this mission was going to be up their most dangerous. Bobby was never known for his subtlety when it came to showing his emotions. Sam rolled his eyes at Bobby, silently communicating to Roberto his amusement at their frosty friend, which conveniently distracting Sam from his own nervousness. Roberto wasn't all that worried about the mission, unlike his friends. He was distracted by something else. He tried to ignore a slightly anxious feeling he was getting as they flew further away from the mansion. For him, it was the first time leaving the institute feeling like he was leaving something behind, or someone.

Roberto confessed to himself that he was worried about Rahne; it seemed that all the LDX poison was out of her system thanks to the new healing factor she had received, but she only had the healing factor because of the LDX in the first place. He was worried about the 'Catch-22' situation they had now found themselves in? All he knew was that she hadn't transformed to Wolfsbane since, he doubted that she would any time soon. He knew the Beast was working hard on behalf of everyone affected by the drug but he had no idea of the progress that he was making.

Roberto shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He looked ahead and saw Kurt not-so-subtly looking back towards the back of the plane, past Roberto, at their last two passengers.

Laura huffed and crossed her arms, looking away each time she saw the elf looking at her. She turned away and glanced at their guest to ensure he was still heavily unconscious. Saunders was tied to the last seat across from her, his head lolling from side to side with the motion of the plane.

Laura huffed again and looked away. She couldn't believe that she was back in the jet again on another so-called 'mission', and seated near someone who she was questioning should even be allowed share the same air as them.

She caught Kurt looking at her again. She sighed and fidgeted. She only agreed to go on this particular mission because of the promise to unleash destruction; well, that and Wolverine had ordered her to go with them. But it didn't really matter because either way, they had her at 'destruction'.

oOo

"Why would Forge be in New York; why would someone bring him there?" Logan punched in the co-ordinates into the guidance system on the X-chopper for New York City as Kitty sat in the seat next to him determined to get there as soon as possible. Colossus remained stoic behind them as Kitty started to get frustrated.

"It's the best place to get lost in a crowd." Logan shrugged his shoulders but his answer did not satisfy Kitty.

"Who would have taken him?" She asked a little softer, genuinely worried. Piotr turned to her, speaking for the first time since boarding the chopper.

"Forge has a gift; there are many that would abuse it." Logan had to agree with the Russian and nodded once.

Chuck had filled Logan in telepathically on most of what he knew of the situation, including why Forge had agreed to move into the institute. From that extra information, Logan had no doubt in his mind that who or whatever trashed his apartment and stole designs from Forge was involved in this kidnapping.

Chuck and Hank were right to be worried about Forge and what was taken. Sure, the kid was too cocky but it was for good reason; no one could do what Forge could do and that's what made him valuable. Clearly, whoever took the designs was trying to recreate them for whatever use they were thinking of, good or bad; but more than likely bad.

The more Logan thought about it, the more he noticed how it fitted the timing that whoever who might have been trying to recreate them must have gotten stuck and frustrated. For Forge that means that his uniqueness had put him on the endangered species list.

oOo

Was that lightning...?

Her eyes flickered open making her quickly regret the decision and squeezed them shut again. Her head felt heavy when she tried to lift it from the pillow so she let her muscles relax back into the bed she found herself on. She tried to go back a step to before she woke up, to before her head started throbbing relentlessly and to before she realised how cold it was but she couldn't go back. She grumbled a few profanities before pushing herself up into a sitting position and opening her eyes fully; well, at least one eye fully.

She squinted around the room with one eye as her hand massaged the socket surrounding the other and tried to get her bearings while blocking out the bright intermittent light coming from the next room. Brushing her messy blonde bangs back she started to remember. She sighed as the door opened and hopped down from the bed on to a very solid floor on suddenly very wobbly legs.

"Whoa!" Rahne cried out, dropping the extra blanket she was fetching for the girl so that she could catch her from falling.

Jan grabbed the sheets as she fell to prevent her from bruising her knees on the tiled floor. Rahne stopped from falling all the way and helped her find her feet again.

"Easy, girl." Janette steadied herself and nodded to Rahne to signal that she was okay. Rahne let go slowly. "My name is Rahne; how're you feelin'?" Jan assessed her state for a second before replying.

"Like someone ran over me." Jan spoke her conclusion hoarsely.

"Or through you?" Rahne volunteered, which made something click with Janette.

"Yeah..." She said slowly and looked to Rahne in question. Rahne cocked her head to the side.

"How much do you remember?" Janette nodded and looked down at her hands as she shifted her weight.

"Most of it..." Rahne got a sense that the girl wasn't in the humour to talk. Rahne picked up a fresh towel and clothes from a near-by chair, thinking of exactly what she would appreciate if their roles were reversed. She gestured to the ensuite bathroom behind the girl.

"C'mon; get cleaned up and then we'll get some food in you. You must be half starved by now!" Rahne smiled warmly at the girl before turning to step out of the room to give her her privacy.

Janette emerged from the shower after a few minutes feeling like a different person, a much stronger and more invulnerable person. She crossed the room to straighten the sheets on the bed she had stayed in. It was a good mannered reaction, but also the thought had occurred to her while she was dressing the bed that this wasn't a hotel or a hospital – this was a place where teenagers were make-shift medics and nurses doing their best to help whoever they could.

As she smoothed out the bed cover, a flickering light caught her attention through a blinded window. It looked like someone had left the television on in the next room.

She opened the door slowly and felt her stomach flutter as she saw Ryan sitting up in the bed with another mutant trying to teach him about his powers but it wasn't working. He was giving it all his focus and concentration to learn; hence, he didn't notice her entering the room. In the corner, Jubilee stood with a plastic mug full of an unpleasant looking liquid cupped in singed hands.

Berserker looked across and saw Janette enter the room. The distraction was a mistake as Ryan's electrical sparks shot out and hit Berserker square in the chest, knocking him off his feet and into the wall behind him. Ray could handle the electricity, but not the wall.

"Sorry, Ray." Ryan called down to the floor through gritted teeth.

"S'okay." Ray called up, rubbing his head as he backed away towards Jubilee.

"What is that?" Jan quietly asked Jubilee pointing at the cup in her hand.

"Oh, it's an elixir that we made up; it helps with this kind of poisoning." Jubilee shrugged looking at the cup and then at Ryan. "Well, it helps if it's been drunk. We haven't been able to get close enough to him."

Ryan closed his eyes tightly and tried to rein his powers in but he couldn't focus – there was too much information, too many signals and more. He felt the bed dip next to him and looked to his left to him to see someone sitting there with him, a cup in hand and a beautiful smile to greet him. Looking into her eyes, for the first time in there he felt like he could breathe...

oOo

She let out a long breath after the retelling of what she knew to the Beast and the Professor at the console of Cerebro while Gambit listened from his place at the other end of the platform, leaning against the door observing.

Rogue growled in frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose trying again to sort out the woman's name from the information overload she had received earlier from the invulnerable girl in the basement but kept drawing a blank. It was infuriating.

"There's no name on this report, for obvious reasons." Hank supplied after another one of Rogue's growls, feeling in his nature that saying something would be better than staying silent. Xavier nodded to Hank to acknowledge what he said but then turned to calm Rogue.

"We'll see if Cerebro can tell us where Warren was taken, Rogue. We can focus on the Doctor later." Rogue dropped her hand from her forehead and nodded defeated.

"Yeah, Professor..." Rogue took a stance next to Xavier as Xavier placed the Cerebro helmet on his head and began to focus to find Angel anywhere. Rogue, Hank and Gambit watched on as results in the vicinity of the Washington DC drew a blank for Angel's genetic mutant signature. Rogue crossed her hands to stop herself from fidgeting as Xavier's search expanded to cover the East Coast followed by the entirety of the United States and then North America. She started fidgeting with a lock of hair behind her ear when Angel was ruled out of all of those mutant signatures and Xavier's search was expanded even further.

After a few further minutes of searching Charles was forced to give up and remove the Cerebro gear from his head leaving the search results up on the screen, which detected nothing across the world for Angel.

"This does not bode well..." Hank stated but instantly knew that that was the perfect example for him to have stayed silent.

"That doesn't mean that he's..." Rogue started against Hank but quickly ran out of steam. With little to support her argument she began clutching at straws. "Maybe she's found a way to hide them from Cerebro?" Everyone in the room was wondering what was more likely; had this woman killed Angel, or was she aware of Cerebro's technology and had discovered a way to hide herself from it? It seemed like the first was more plausible, which was nauseating. But if they knew who they were dealing with they may be able to tell more of the situation.

"Wait..." Rogue burst out suddenly, her eyes dancing like she was speed reading again. "The Doctor, her name... She wanted Angel, she talked to him. She told him what her name was... Na – Natasha something-"

"Essex?" Gambit finished for Rogue with a disbelieving exclamation from his side of the room. Rogue looked to Remy in shock and nodded slowly to confirm.

"Yeah... How did you know that?" Rogue asked as Janette's memories went from sketchy to vivid when Remy had completed the name for her. Hank and Xavier looked to Gambit for an explanation as well. Gambit exhaled, clearly knowing something of how bad this situation might be; but he was aware that the longer he paused the more worried everyone else in the room was getting. But what he was to tell them would do nothing to assuage their fears. He started in a deep and low southern tone.

"Ah didn't know de name until recently, but Ah had heard o' her – more like a scary bedtime story from back home than anythin' substantial." Gambit sighed in remembrance. "Back home, 'bout twenty or so years ago, there was a bunch o' disappearances. No one was ever found, and no one was held responsible. '_Sinistre_' was de name dat was given to dis monster dat was takin' these people-" Gambit looked up to Rogue, "men, women, children... even babies." Rogue broke eye contact with him after the last word and turned away for the sudden tears that she found welling up in her eyes. Gambit looked away from her and continued on regardless, getting closer to the group as he talked. "Needless to say, dat name haunted the streets of N'awlins to fo' a long time.

"But, things, they got real quiet. People forgot about Sinistre and the monster slowly became a myth – like Ah said, a scary bedtime story. De police, they put de disappearances down to random crimes and situations that weren't connected so they wouldn't look so bad. But Ah was warned to never treat it as mindless superstition like so many others Ah knew did.

"My family told me o' the name 'Dr. Natasha Essex', which was'n a name dat many people knew, but o' de those few o' us dat did; wish we didn't. Only desperate people sought her out, and no one could ever prove if she really was Sinistre or not; but proof didn't wasn't needed in the Bayou. People, dey just knew...

"As years went by, Ah didn't think about it anymore. Ah figured that that whoever it was probably had died a long time ago, but dis all sounds like history's repeatin'..."

A long pause ensued after Gambit finished his tale. Rogue had turned her back to the story, drying her eyes as she thought hard about what she was hearing and why it was bringing forth so many painful memories from so many people. If Rogue was certain of one thing, it was that Essex, or Sinistre, was painfully real to someone she had absorbed in the past.

"This is disturbing indeed." Xavier looked to the report in Hank's hands. "Genetic experimentation on mutants, as we know, is not unheard of. But if Angel has been experimented on, a change to his genetic mutant signature would explain why we could not locate him using Cerebro. The situation may not be as bad as we think for him."

"I'm not sure yo' friend Worthin'ton would agree wit dat." Gambit responded unusually pessimistic for the situation.

"So, either he's dead or he's not Angel anymore..." Rogue said ominously to the people behind her, staring into the space in front of her.

The Professor could feel the emotion that Rogue was projecting and something else that concerned about this new information. Something that had happened a long time ago, but Charles didn't believe it possible for someone to go so far wrong for that to have happened; but he had been wrong about people before...

**En****d of Chapter 50**

_A.N. I'm back; I'm not planning to travel anytime soon (California rocks, btw! That's where I was), I have a healthy laptop again and the evenings are cold and dark here - so updates should be faster when thought about from that pov. _

_I missed ye!_

_Rí_**  
**


	51. Chapter 51

**Hi, guys! Apologies for not uploading sooner... My bad... R&R, RR  
**

**Chapter 51**

New York City was crowed all day and all night. That said, it was easier to park a helicopter than a car in the city centre given that they were spoilt for choice with so many skyscraper roof tops that had chopper pads and the stealth software the was built in to the X-Chopper. The three mutants had disembarked and dressed in their civvies to wander the never ending nameless streets. Their mission was to search for one mutant out of the eight million people living and working in this one massive metropolis. They had their work cut out for them.

He walked down through the canyon made of buildings, which were capable of making _him_ feel small, in the business district following the man with keen senses as he unobtrusively sniffed his way through the hoards of people trying to go about their day. He had an advantage over most people trying to squeeze their way past; he was very tall, built and imposing. People's natural reaction around him was to clear the way and make a path for the big Russian. He didn't mind it most of the time, but he didn't like the idea that people felt scared or threatened by him just because of his appearance. A small arm looped into his. He looked down at the petite brunette next to him. She was never scared of him. She trusted him...

oOo

Torque walked straight up to the guarded door in the basement of his building after the necessary parts of the day's work had been completed, which took him until well after night fall. Webber nodded to his two bodyguards to stay on that side of the door and to wait for his return. They acknowledged and stood their ground obediently as Webber turned to the other two to the other two, much younger and mutated guards blocking the way to the door.

Lance and Pietro smirked knowingly to Mr. Torque and opened the door for him. He walked in past them and paused when only they could hear him.

"Stop grinning like buffoons!" A woman's voice hissed to them through Webber. Tautening their faces into composure, they closed the door behind 'Webber'.

Torque walked over to the window once the door was firmly shut and guarded to see how his doppelganger and Forge had progressed since observing them last. When he had finished assessing, he shifted from the young teenager, Webber Torque, and turned into the infamous mutant, Mystique. She quickly turned her attention to Mastermind.

"Make them work faster." She ordered him impatiently from her side on the room. Mastermind felt caught off guard, and had a quiet upsetting feeling that she wouldn't like his answer.

"I'm sorry, but they're are working as fast as their minds will let them – uninhibited from ethics and other such... distractions; to push them any further now might result in a spontaneous collapse in their sanity." Mystique wasn't thoroughly appreciative of that answer but she didn't want to jeopardise everything when she was so close.

"Xavier's people are too close to this already, and I will not stand by and let them ruin all I've been working towards." Mystique yelled out her frustration at him and began wearing a path in the floor like a caged animal. Mastermind felt the need to defend the two he was controlling.

"They have moved mountains already." He offered, to which she looked up at him. She wondered silently how much he knew of her plans and what was happening. She dismissed the thought, not thinking that it was possible for anyone other than her to put all the pieces together.

"If you had any idea of what it has taken to get here; all of the planning and..." Mystique looked though the window at the sight taking shape and breathed: "This is my destiny..."

oOo

The account of Essex that he had heard earlier was disturbing indeed, but whatever was questionable about her ethics; there was no doubt about this woman's intelligence and competence. She really must be a force to be reckoned with.

Hank had been working solidly for the last few hours interpreting her descriptions, the academic devouring her notes hungrily. He could feel that he was getting closer and closer to a medical breakthrough. With the firsthand account of her LDX studies all bound together in her notes, he was getting closer to the cure...

oOo

He put down the Cerebro headgear and rubbed his temples once more. A call alert sound came from the console. Xavier sighed and pressed a button his own hand held communications device to answer it, knowing who it was.

"I'm getting no closer to locating him, Wolverine." Xavier sighed. Xavier could hear Logan growling over the line.

"What seems to be the problem, Chuck?" Logan questioned the other man.

"It seems that something is distorting his brain patterns from Cerebro." Xavier began to process the information out loud.

"So, another telepath's involved here?" Logan theorised.

"That is what the evidence would suggest. I would think heavily involved. The only other explanation would be Magneto – or possibly both could be involved."

"It's not Magneto..." Xavier heard from behind him and turned.

Rogue, who had been standing at the back of the room hugging her elbows, didn't elaborate on her statement and stepped out of the doorway past Gambit and kept walking. Remy followed her wearing a frown.

Xavier didn't turn back to the console but stared at the space that Rogue had occupied and spoke into his comm. device to Logan.

"It's not Magneto..."

oOo

"You sure about this, bro?"

"Yeah, this is where the Professor told us to drop him off."

"So, we're just gonna to let him go?"

"We're not letting him go; you have to trust the Professor."

"Whadya mean?"

"I'll explain later..."

"Ouch!"

"Keep it down, Bobby!"

"Sorry – I walked into something..."

"Vait you guys, shouldn't ve keep him with us for this?"

"Why?"

"He might come in handy!"

"How would he be handy to have 'round?"

"Vell, you know, he might make things easier to get in?"

"Oh, I geddit! What you're sayin' is that this place may have some really tough security?"

"Yeah, what if ve need him to get us past some high tech retina scanners or fingerprint thingies?"

Snikt!

"We don't need all of him for that..."

"Laura, put those away."

Un-snikt!

"Mann, I vouldn't have believed that there was someone scarier in the world than Wolverine..."

"Shushhh! Someone's coming."

"Hey! Who's there?" The lights in the hallway and the living room were flicked on by one of the residents of the house. The sixteen year old immediately noticed a strange, strong smell in the room but he saw no burglars, despite the fact that he could have sworn that he had heard voices a few moments earlier. He lowered the baseball bat once he was satisfied that there were no intruders. He was about to turn off the lights and go back to his room to finish his homework when he spotted a foot belonging to someone sitting in the arm chair in the living room.

He raised the bat up again, and cautiously approached the arm chair in the living room. When he could see the man's face he dropped the bat quickly like it was suddenly made of red hot iron.

"Dad!" He exclaimed, taking two steps back in disbelief.

The teenager's cry for his brother and mother could be heard loudly to the neighbouring houses, distracting everyone who could hear him with the sudden return of his missing father. No one gave much attention to the out-of-place thunder, which soon faded to nothing, for they had escaped the storm this day...

oOo

"Cherie?" Gambit pushed open the doorway into Forge's room, where he had tracked Rogue to. He saw her instantly; she was sitting at the foot of Forge's bed, hunched forwards with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on gloved knuckles. She was quietly staring at Forge's desk and shelves. He thought she must have heard him at the door, but she didn't move a muscle.

Remy entered the room anyway and crouched down in front of her. She kept staring at the shelves behind him. Gambit sighed when she still didn't look him in the eye and went for the obvious question.

"How do you dat Magneto ain't involved in any o' this, Cherie?" He asked her quietly. Her eyes snapped to his, like he had just suddenly appeared in front of her out of the blue.

"Remy?" She asked him, genuinely acknowledging his presence for the first time, lifting her head off her hands. Remy furrowed his brow in question.

"Were _you_ somewhere else jus' now, or was I?" He asked with a smile, trying to learn more about the girl in front of him. She shook her head slightly.

"Sorry, Ah was just tryin' to figure things out..." He nodded in acceptance of her answer.

"An' what have you come up with?" She saw something then, behind him, forgetting his question. She slowly stood and he rose with her, watching her go back into that trace that she seemed to be in when he entered the room. She glided ghostly over to the shelves. She looked hypnotised by what she was seeing; he probably sounded a million miles away from her at that moment. "Roguey?" He called out softly. She quickly turned and scowled at him.

"Ugh, don't call me that!" She cautioned him, with a bark that was worse than her bite to him. But the scowl was worth it to Remy; it proved that she wasn't completely deaf after all. She turned back to the shelf at her eye level and picked up a tiny trinket that matched Forge's style. Remy stood behind her trying to see what she held in her hand. She turned to face him and splayed it out in front of him on her palm. He looked at the object, she looked at Remy. Rogue thought she caught a glimmer of recognition cross his face before the expression stealthily disappeared.

"What's that? Paper weigh'?" Gambit joked after his moment of hesitation was shrugged off. Rogue frowned at him but soon dismissed his odd behaviour out of interest in the object.

"Not sure..." Rogue said to him before returning her attention to the 'paper weight'. Weight was interesting; for such a small object, it was much heavier than it looked. Rogue frowned.

Remy was unsure what he was looking at, but he regretted to say that he did recognise it from his dark, underhanded dealings when he stole designs and trinkets while trashing Forge's apartment. Forge hadn't made it easy though; he had a better home security system in his apartment than the Pentagon. But high security was his _speciality_. This and the little trinket he stole were identical in that they both had six sides, a petite cube, and looked metallic but were both covered in tiny lines like a microchip, suggesting that it was incredibly complex, and knowing that Forge was the person who made it only confirmed the former conclusion.

The most important clue as to its true value was the reaction that Gambit got when he showed a copy of the same object to Webber Torque during their exchange of cash for blueprints not so long ago. From Rogue's reaction just now, Gambit realised he should've charged the little fink a whole lot more.

Suddenly the little cube floated up into the air, catching Remy off guard and causing him to flinch. He looked back to Rogue and instantly saw her glowing yellow eyes. Rogue used Magneto's abilities to raise the cube. The little piece of technology rotated slowly between them on its own axis. Gambit wasn't exactly comfortable seeing Magneto's powers in the fille, but he just considered himself lucky that she wasn't reading his mind.

"Most of it is made of Adamantium..." Rogue muttered to herself. She squinted at the item in question and the cube sprang apart into a three-dimensional exploded view and froze at that position so they could both see all the components. Gambit let out a respectful whistle at the complexity of the piece. Rogue looked up with her yellow eyes to Gambit when he sounded impressed. Gambit looked back at Rogue and then back and forth between her and the piece.

"Yeah, Ah still have no idea what it does," Gambit admitted with a shrug, "but you gotta hand it to Forge; he does nice work, non?" Rouge remained silent in her opinion of the cube. "You said it has Adamantium in it?" Rogue nodded while she took in the sight.

"There're layers 'n' layers of thin films of it soldered all over this thing..." Rogue whispered to Remy; who knew that he definitely should've charged Torque more. Rogue started to reassemble the pieces once more using Magneto's abilities and Gambit's question resurfaced.

"Why did you tell the Professeur that Magneto didn't have Forge?" Rogue took her hand away from underneath the piece they were studying and her eyes returned to their normal green colour, but the cube remained floating between them. Suddenly, the little piece shot out the window like a bullet, breaking the glass, causing them both to jump back in surprise. They ran to the window and their eyes followed its path straight down towards the front garden.

Shoulder to shoulder in the window pane, Gambit and Rogue could see the answer to the question before them.

"Because he's here, and he's not looking for Forge..." Rogue informed him.

oOo

"'_Clearly surpasses any game released by 'Action Torque Games' to date!' Five Stars ***** - Game X-pert"_

It was the tenth review that she had read at a glance while walking through the streets of New York, passing store windows. They were getting nowhere fast and they knew it, and this was the only thing that was standing out to her.

"Am, Logan?" Logan turned halted in his tracks and turned fully to face Kitty. He kept his hood up to shield his face from the general vicinity after what happened in DC.

"What is it?" He bit out; frustrated that he hadn't caught a scent yet.

"This might, like, totally be a long shot but I think Webber Torque might be involved in some of this." She received a blank expression back from him, whereas Colossus stood silent and read the posters in the store window behind Kitty. "Arcade, Torque, he's a kid from Bayville; like, Forge and him worked together." Kitty was quick to explain.

"What made you think o' him?" Logan asked as he came up closer to Kitty. She just pointed at the window and Logan nodded. "Right..." Logan looked at the advertisements in the window and growled at animated versions of mutants fighting on the cover, especially the short one with claws. "What the hell is all of this?" He seethed at the images in a low tone.

"He invented this game." She pointed to the posters in the window.

"Looks like the Danger Room." Logan replied. Kitty nodded. Logan could see her point; why Arcade would kidnap Forge didn't add up yet, but Logan didn't hold much stock in coincidences. "Right, where is he based in the city?" Kitty looked around at all the people coming in and out of the store and saw the queue that was going out the door, the demographic being mostly teenage boys.

"I'll be right back." Kitty replied chirpily putting on her sweetest smile.

oOo

She locked the door of her car and steadily walked across the frozen ground of the car park, cursing in her head each time there was a slippery bit that she hadn't anticipated. She wondered who she should say it to when she got inside, but the place needed to be gritted. She lost her footing again and dropped her purse when she used her arms to regain her balance.

"Dammit." She slowly lowered herself to pick up her purse and the few things that fell out of it. She heard a twig snap behind the fence a few yards away. She lifted her head to study the fence for a second. She thought she saw something...

Beep!

Her digital watch announced the hour and she cursed again, she was late. She grabbed her few bits and pieces and threw them back into her handbag, forgetting about what she thought she saw. She walked away to the entrance to the site to swipe in forgetting about the dark bushes behind her to think of her. The dark bushes studied pondered their next move.

Snikt! Snikt!

oOo

He was alerted to his presence when the security systems picked something up among the noise of Storm's distractions. He couldn't think of a reason for him to be there, and Charles knew that this man always had an ulterior motive. He wheeled out to the front steps of the mansion to 'welcome' their guest.

Eric spotted Charles and walked forwards towards the Mansion from where he had landed; Charles thought it odd that Eric did not simply float towards him; walking like Homo sapiens seemed before to be somewhat beneath Eric. Perhaps Apocalypse had instilled some humility in his old friend. Xavier wondered if this was the beginning of the future he had seen for Eric.

Suddenly, Magneto lifted a hand up and Xavier heard the sound of breaking glass from one of the mansion windows. A small cube shot like a bullet towards Magneto and froze just before him. He grabbed it from the air and stilled to study it, ignoring Xavier's serene presence until something less serene showed up.

Bamf!

Rogue and Gambit appeared next to Xavier in a cloud of Brimstone. Rogue immediately let go of Remy to start charging towards Magneto, who had not paid much attention to her entrance for the cube in his hand.

"Rogue!" Xavier called out to her to stop but she ignored him, her brass approach finally tore Magneto's attention away from the cube.

"You have some nerve showin' up here!" She shouted at Magneto, a great deal more angry than the apparent situation called for...

**En****d of Chapter 51**

_A.N. Again, that took longer than I had anticipated. Thanks for the reviews! Things have been a bit mad round here - record smashing freezing weather (I do not like snow and ice - almost crashed the car again), the IMF bailout and Irish economy... in fact, the only good thing about November was my birthday (small 'woot'!) and squeezing in the fanfic!_


	52. Chapter 52

**R&R, RR  
**

**Chapter 52**

He tore his attention away from the unbelievable piece of engineering before him when he noticed Rogue's determined path for him. Her existence was not important to him at that moment, but only for the fact that she was about to make herself known to him, he wouldn't have given her a moment of attention at such a milestone in his efforts.

"You have some nerve showin' up here!" The girl shouted at him in her think Southern accent. He almost grinned at her brass had she not forcibly interrupted his thoughts. He allowed her get within ten feet of him before his eyes glowed yellow.

Xavier and Gambit, positioned in front of the mansion, felt a small rumble in the earth beneath them as a nearby security camera pole was pulled up from the ground by magnetic forces and was swung around through the air between him and Rogue. Storm landed gracefully next to Xavier, staring at the scene unfolding before them.

"What is going on?" She inquired but her glowing white eyes remained fixed on them while still manipulating the air around them as part of her ongoing anti-publicity stunt around the institute. Xavier opened his mouth to say something but he had no answer for her.

Rogue paid little attention to the metal pole as she kept her unwavering path for Magneto. Magneto didn't even flinch in his control as the large bar of metal circled and closed around Rogue to capture, bind and sedate her. The metal shrieked as it was stretched so unnaturally and tightened within inches of Rogue's waist forcing her to finally halt. Magneto's expression was unknowable given that his helmet was shadowing his face, but he was undoubtedly a little pleased at so easily defeating a foolish X-man.

He watched the girl that he was restraining, naturally expecting to see resilience and struggled from her but instead she stared right back at him, straight into his glowing yellow eyes, with a look undaunted. Magneto only realised at that moment that this girl in particular always had something up her sleeve.

Bamf!

The girl disappeared in a cloud of brimstone before his very eyes; the rogue child suddenly causing him much alarm.

Bamf!

Magneto barely had time to adjust to the idea of Rogue teleporting before she reappeared immediately at his side. Taking advantage of the sudden close proximity, she reached a hand up to his face.

He reacted quickly, turning and grabbing her threatening hand to prevent her from touching his skin and taking his powers. He held her wrist high, almost to the point where Rogue's feet would lift off the ground. She reached up with her other hand to pull herself out of his grasp but he had a firm hold over her wrist. As she struggled, he noticed something unusual; Rogue was still wearing gloves.

Eric, in genuine surprise, looked straight at her; she looked straight back at him with a foreign look about her. The rogue tilted her chin up slightly in defiance and anger. She whispered hotly to him as pausing her fight for her arm to be released.

"Ich weiß, was Sie zu ihm..." She spoke in a foreign tongue through gritted teeth.

The Deutsche phrase transported Eric to another time and another place in an instant. He saw himself as a terrified child and as an evil man all at the same time. The adrenaline caused him to throw down Rogue's hand, and Rogue, with force. She barely flinched though under the fabric of her long sleeve, Magneto's fingerprint impressions had formed in fresh bruises; the pair stared at each other but both were unreadable to spectators.

"Rogue!" Xavier yelled out to the girl, fearful of the instability of her powers and what she could do if pushed.

Rogue blinked and shook her head, breaking eye contact with Magneto and becoming someone else before his eyes – becoming Rogue once more.

She stepped back from Eric temporarily withdrawn and a little unsure of herself or what she was doing exactly. She quickly spotted something between them on the ground and bent to pick it up. He had dropped the cube in their struggle. Eric almost verbalised a protest to her taking it but he was too confused by what had just happened. She stood up straight from him and turned back to Xavier while still piecing things together herself.

"Rogue, what were you doing?" Xavier chastised her for her offence on Eric, though Eric admittedly had been excessively rough to his student in response.

She looked at the cube that she and Gambit had been studying previously before it was so rudely acquired by Magneto. Rogue shrugged and decided to go with that.

"This is Forge's." She held up the cube for the others to see and turned back to Eric. "An' if ol' bucket head here wanted to see it, then he should've asked." Her voice was full of the brass that Xavier was used to, but her eyes, which were directed to Magneto, were communicating silence regarding what had just transpired between them.

"Yes, well, Magneto's decorum aside, Rogue, you're behaviour did not reflect good manners either." Rogue walked back to Gambit and Storm, dismissed, as Xavier wheeled forwards to Magneto who was still not sure what had happened.

"Eric, what is the meaning of this?" Xavier asked to address the matter of his sudden appearance at the Institute and his interest in Forge's work. Magneto tore his eyes away from Rogue, and paused. He was not normally one to be lost for words.

Remembering himself, he looked at Xavier.

"Where is Jean Grey?" Magneto asked him clearly.

oOo

"It is almost complete." Wyndegard informed his client while keeping his eyes closed in concentration.

"How much longer?" Mystique asked impatiently. Mastermind squeezed his eyes tighter in concentration to find her an answer from the two boys in the room in front of them and offered a slightly offhand shrug in response, a little out of character.

"Two... maybe three... hours?" He supplied. Mystique slammed her hand on the window pane before them, unimpressed by the answer.

"That is too long!" She bellowed as the glass reverberated from her voice and the impact of her hand. "We don't have time for this! The X-men must know that the boy is missing by now, my time is short." She stared hard at Wyndegard challenging him.

"Pushing them any harder now could very nearly kill them, or me!" Mastermind defended his abilities and theirs to date. He tried to conceal, but failed, the fear that had entered his tone.

"You're saying that you're not powerful enough?" Mystique made a blatant attempt at reverse psychology on Mastermind; she was desperate and frustrated.

"No; I'm saying-" Mystique cut him off, her voice dead pan, strong and determined.

"You will be rewarded for your efforts, Wyndegard." She looked at him and back to the boys that were robotically completing what she had envisioned. Her voice took on an ominous tone. "You will make them go faster, to hell with the consequences..."

oOo

"What do you want with Jean?" Xavier demanded a little more protectively than necessary. Magneto replied in a deep, almost hypnotic tone.

"She has shown an incredible amount of power recently, hasn't she? Maybe even more than you can handle, Charles?" Xavier said nothing back to the man, offended easily when it came to Xavier's abilities to protect the children at his school. Magneto knew he had gotten it right and took Xavier's silence as affirmation. He took two steps forwards, causing Rogue, Storm and Gambit to instinctively assume positions, blocking his way into their home.

"What do you want with her?" Storm voiced clearly to the man, sparks flying from her eyes in agitation. Magneto smirked to himself knowingly.

"She is here then." Magneto read their protective body language easily, knowing that the girl was indeed inside.

"Yes, she is here." Xavier confirmed and motioned for the other's to back down, which they did, reluctantly. Xavier sighed. "We should talk inside." Xavier's invitation caused Gambit to step aside before Storm but she too stepped aside on Xavier's invite. Rogue, however, remained blocking Magneto's path with the cube firmly in her grasp.

"Wait, Professor; first Ah want him to tell us what his interest is in this thing?" She held up the cube in front of her.

Magneto had accepted that he had gone well beyond the point where he could bluff that he held no interest in the piece; reluctantly he agreed with a nod. Xavier leaned forward to hear Eric's answer. Magneto sighed, feeling that this was too much valuable information to be sharing with the X-men.

"I have only seen technology like that once before." Magneto stated ominously and reached into his cape to produce a small flat, shiny square with similar patterns on it as the cube Rogue held in her hands. Xavier and Storm recognised it immediately as technology that had been used against them by someone very powerful.

Rogue hitched her breath when she realised what he held and silently stepped aside, letting Magneto cross the stronghold.

oOo

Outside a busy warehouse that housed a former steel beams and girders manufacturing facility, two mutants sat waiting in the dark. Sam's breath could be seen in the air around them; he blew on his hands and rubbed them together for added warmth in the cold air.

"Who woulda thunk it?" Cannonball whispered quietly to Havok as they peered from the shadowed fence at the facility, perched ready to go at a moment's notice. Sam got no response from Alex so he tried again to break the tension of waiting around while on a dangerous mission.

"A place like this, just hidden away... Would make ya paranoid, wouldn't it?" Alex, whose hands were already nice and warm as a result of his mutation shrugged, never taking his eyes off the building and warehouse before them.

"Paranoia seems to be a lifestyle since I came to the Institute, dude." Alex shrugged, speaking his mind freely while mostly concentrating on the building. "I'm not surprised there are people out there still making these things..."

Sam felt the air get a little frostier after Alex's unguarded statement; to the point where he didn't know how to respond to it. A few more moments passed quietly before Sam tried again to break the awkwardly silence.

"So, we're just gonna wait here until Scott gives us the signal?" Cannonball clarified. Havok nodded.

"Yeah..." Alex answered, still deep in thought and concentration. A few quiet seconds ticked by before Alex took in a breath, and then one more before he decided to actually talk. "Hey, do you think Scott kept me out here for a reason?"

"Whatdya mean?" Cannonball asked, surprised as to the change in topic and humour.

"You know," Alex fidgeted a bit with the gloves on his X-men uniform, "keeping his little, inexperienced kid brother away from the action?" Cannonball let out a sound of amusement at that.

"An' what would that make me – the babysitter?" Alex nearly took offense at Sam's entertainment at the notion but saw how self centred that had sounded. After all, if Scott wanted to keep Alex away from all of this, he wouldn't have recruited him to come in the first place.

"Yeah, okay, maybe I'm exaggerating..." Alex smiled at his colleague. Sam slapped him on the back good naturedly.

"Damn straight you're exaggeratin'," He affirmed, "'n' trust me, on Scott's missions; you won't be twiddlin' your thumbs f'r long..."

oOo

"This is it, a steel plant?" Bobby asked in a hushed voice from the shadows at the top arbour as they looked down onto the production floor under them after having entered through an open fire escape window.

"This isn't a steel plant; it's an assembly line." Cyclops told them. They looked down on the floor below, technicians breaking in to a sweat from the speed at which they were working at. Someone was working them hard and fast, and given their product that was not a good sign. Scott looked around at the workers work tirelessly on the bodywork by large robotic welding arms and others assemble by hand the finer components.

"There are too many people in here – our hands are tied. We can't do anything right now." Scott concluded a little nervously.

"Vait, we can't just let this place exist?" Kurt demanded loudly of Cyclops. Laura stood behind them. She sniffed the air and turned her head to the side following the scent. Scott and Kurt continued to debate what they should do next while Laura looked down at her feet. She crouched down and pulled an impossibly large white feather from the grid floor under their feet. Roberto, ignoring Scott and Kurt, crouched facing her and the feather.

"You know where this came from?" She asked him, to which the others fell quiet. Roberto nodded.

"Looks like one of Angel's feathers." He looked to Scott, who knew their feathered friend better. Scott agreed quickly.

"Yeah, it is. And the Professor said he was missing." Scott whispered in a hushed tone. "Can you tell how long ago he was here?" He directed his question to Laura

"A week or two..." Laura offered her best estimate but the scent evoked a distinct memory and location in her mind. "This scent was in DC." Scott nodded, impressed by X-23's skills.

"Professor said that was his last known location; guess we now know where he was before that." Scott looked out at the floor.

"So he found this place and got captured?" Sunspot theorised, looking at his surroundings as he spoke. "How did he discover it?"

"I think I know..." Scott whispered, nodding indicatively in a certain direction. Everyone followed his gaze to the main floor below where they saw text in the faded floor paint the remnants of the steel factory's former glory days: _Worthington Industries_.

oOo

"These are tough times for all in this country, however, that does not mean that we have to resort to such extreme measures." He attempted to politically reason with the man's presentation, but his colleague was having none of it.

"The cost of these extreme demonstrations, of vigilantism and reckless endangerment of civilians is more than the country can afford." The Senator placed the small stack of bound paper on the coffee table between them next to a waiting pen; a little unceremonious red sticky marked where the most important signature was to sign.

The conflict had been aging the man for the last few weeks at an accelerated rate; debating the rights of a newly emerged minority over the rights and safety of the majority – not many leaders before his generation have had to face this issue and there were more than just him facing this at the moment but no one had declared anything official yet. But regardless, every country must do what is right for its own citizens.

He looked across the room at the two flags behind his desk and the eagle on the floor in the centre of the room and fought it over in his head.

"We are showing tolerance." He told the man sitting across from him while still looking at the eagle next to his feet for his moral compass. The Senator replied in a strong but pleading tone.

"We are showing weakness to other nations and neglect to our own people." The Senator's statement made him look away from the eagle and to the man on the other couch. "You agree that every citizen has the right to be safe in their own home?"

"Yes, of course." He stood up in frustration, the blood pounding in his ears from what he was being asked to decide this day.

"And these mutants are making it impossible! They are breaking every vigilante law in the book and no one is holding them responsible." The Senator stood and watched the man walk over to the bay windows of his office to look out at the public. The faint glow of collective candle light from the tribute outside the gates for Guy Spears, a well known public figure and victim of the latest mutant activity in their city.

The Senator approached the man from behind, stopping to look at the same image through the window. He spoke to the man on the issue resolutely.

"The nation is crying out for justice for what happened in this very city, and in Rochester and Los Angeles..." He let the words and picture before them sink in.

"I'll think about it." The man sighed, wearing a deep frown. The Senator leaned forward and inch.

"You'll see that this is what has to happen-" The Senator persisted but was cut off abruptly.

"I said, I'll think about it." The man told him sternly, turning his head slightly. He straightened up and faced the man properly. "Good day." The Senator nodded at his dismissal and reached out to shake the man's hand. He did not take it. The Senator nodded again and pulled his hand back. He turned and swiftly walked out of the room, the doors being opened for him by waiting armed agents.

Outside the gates of the compound, a large car was waiting for the Senator. The Senator made his way out to his guarded chauffeured vehicle and sat in. An older man waited in the car for him.

"Did he sign it?" Worthington asked immediately as soon as the door was closed. The car started to drive off.

"No." He didn't hesitate to inform the man. Worthington remained silent; he simply raised an eyebrow at the man and waited for the Senator to fill in the blanks. "He has it, he's going through it; he said he'll think about it." The Senator informed him through gritted teeth. Worthington again remained silently unimpressed. The Senator became agitated by the man's passive aggressive behaviour.

"I have been working on this act since the mutant problem first rose; I have gotten it through Congress and I have gotten it through the Senate." Admittedly, both were aided, or rather, supplemented by Worthington's support. The Senator stopped talking when he started picturing the figures that Worthington had invested in to this so far.

Worthington saw the point cross the Senator's face and signalled to the driver to pull over next to another large chauffeured car. Worthington straightened up and reached for the door handle but turned back to the Senator before he exited the car.

"I hope he signs it, for your sake, Creed." Worthington opened the door and vacated swiftly, leaving an anxious Senator behind to think about it...

**En****d of Chapter 52**

_A.N. Thanks for the reviews! Things continue to be mad 'round here - anyone seen the news about Ireland lately? (Main highlight: government falling apart and all...) Cheer me up - say hi! Free time is tight lately so encouragement is always nice! _

_Missed ye loads - Rí  
_


	53. Chapter 53

**R&R, RR**

**Not my characters (mostly) this is just for entertainment!  
**

**Chapter 53**

"_You will be rewarded for your efforts, Wyndegard." She looked at him and back to the boys that were robotically completing what she had envisioned. Her voice took on an ominous tone. "You will make them go faster, to hell with the consequences..." _

Beyond the doors, two lone misunderstood teenage mutants stood guard.

"This is crazy; we've been here for ages! Nothing has happened, is happening or will ever happen! How can you just stand there?" Lance stood, fighting his desire to slouch at his post and becoming increasingly irritated by Quicksilver's unrelenting voice.

"Getting flighty, Pietro?" Avalanche asked the speedster. Pietro made a noise of annoyance in response. After, tapping his foot for a few milliseconds he decided something.

"I'll be right back!" Before Lance could protest, Pietro was gone and back with a steaming cup of coffee, which he was sipping tentatively careful not to burn himself with this current occupation. He was fast, but he wouldn't risk scalding he mouth. Lance knew that somewhere in the world someone was wondering where their fresh coffee had disappeared to, or if they ever had coffee in their hand in the first place.

"Yeah, great," Lance sighed, talking forwards, leaning his head and shoulders back against the wall behind him, "because that's what you need... Caffeine..."

oOo

"Well, he drank it all." He glanced at his fledgling apprentice who had entered his lab looking lightly charred; however, her appearance had evaded Hank's initial observations.

"Wonderful!" He replied and returned to one of his ten or more experiments that he was running on a lab scale, attempting to maximise his success by running slightly different combinations and methods at once. Jubilee put down the beaker on the counter unnecessarily loud to gain Hank's attention again. Hank turned around, a distracted reflex, which took him two movements to complete a simple half turn to face her. He took in her full appearance this time.

"It was _not_ easy." Jubilee started now having the room's attention. "Janette, the invulnerable girl, was the only one who could get close enough to him." Jubilee opened the door and indicated to the intermittently flickering of light bouncing off the walls in the corridor that was coming from the nearby room.

"My apologies, Jubilee, I've been distracted." He indirectly asked for her forgiveness as he took in the light show. "It would seem that he is in need of the cure the most." Jubilee let the door swing closed.

"You said it wasn't a cure?" Jubilee tilted her head to the Beast in question. From her interest showed, it was clear she was more comfortable in the lab than dealing with patients. Hank suddenly felt fidgety as he went back to his experiments.

"Yes, well, it's not but I'm working towards one." He told her in short and nervous breaths. Jubilee was confused by his behaviour but took in what he said.

"But that's great!" She said and walked up to the running experiments in the large fume hoods out of curiosity and a new found enthusiasm. "What is it?"

"I don't have anything yet, Jubilee," Hank told her quickly, "I would be reluctant to get anyone's hopes up." Jubilee looked at him. He picked up the report from a nearby counter top. "I have received further information, information pertaining to the inhuman experiments these people were subjected to." He used the report to gesture to the hallway and their imitation hospital wing for Essex's victims. Jubilee nodded for Hank to continue.

"All of the 'patients' were coded according to DNA and given various strengths and doses of the poison. Everyone here is considered the lucky ones. From the symptoms displayed, I do believe that Mr. Kane was the mutant who receive the strongest dosage and lived." He placed the report back down and held on to the edge of the counter, hunching his back and hanging his head. "This is advanced chemistry, let alone advanced pharmacology; it may be beyond my level of understanding. It may take years; which is time that many people don't have..."

oOo

He sighed heavily in his office; he saw no way out of the situation that he was in other than this. He had listened to all sides of the argument again and again. He had resigned himself to the fact that this would be his last and only term in office with these events, and hopefully, this won't be his last act; he doubted, however, if people would remember him for anything else after this.

He looked to the crowd outside one last time before he decided to change the world, for better or worse. He felt the wear on his body as he sat at his desk, his muscles automatically tensing into the strong confident posture expected of him. He put pen to paper with a shaky hand.

"God help us all..." He made his mark in front of the necessary number of witnesses and peeled off the red sticky. Senator Creed stepped out of the office to make a call that was a long time coming...

oOo

He stood quiet and contemplating for a moment and stared in from the doorway. He was angry and confused, and being an intelligent man, it was incredibly frustrating for him.

"She has been in a coma for the last few weeks." Charles' voice spoke quietly, not breaking Eric's concentration on the girl lying on the hospital bed before him.

"What happened?" His deep tone demanded to know from his former friend; he needed to put the pieces together.

"Her powers grew uncontrollable-" Xavier started the story, skipping the opening paragraph and going straight to the heart of the matter but Magneto quickly interrupted regardless.

"For her, or for you?" Charles would not rise to Magneto's taunts but that did not mean that Eric was incorrect in his statement.

"For both of us." Charles answered honestly. "By my own doing, she let her powers control her instead of the other way around." He admitted that the majority of the fault lied with him as his pupil's responsible guardian. "She lost control and allowed her baser instincts to become the dominant personality. She attacked students at a college in Rochester."

"New York." Magneto nodded and raised his chin in confidence before a question that was conflicting him came to the surface. "Why is she here, like this?" Xavier could have told him the details of what had happened but he didn't. That wasn't what Magneto was asking. What he wanted to say was how someone so powerful could be reduced to this state.

"She is powerful, Eric; but she is not invulnerable." Xavier felt like he was explaining life to a child. Magneto's awareness of mortality was refreshing for him; it brought out the human side of the mutant. Xavier felt that something must have changed in the man for him to sound so vulnerable by comparison to his previous experience. Perhaps he was starting to see another glimpse of the future unfold. Xavier sighed. "Truth be told, she hadn't truly tapped in to the full potential of her powers, even as she was being brought down."

"Which wasn't by you..." He stated. Magneto turned to the man for the first time in their conversation. Xavier looked to behind Magneto.

Magneto looked over his shoulder in the direction that Xavier was indicating, beyond Gambit; towards the Rogue who was watching him through her white locks, understated as always.

"Of course..." Magneto nodded to the child as many new theories began to enter his head.

"What does any o' dis have to do with Jean?" Gambit pulled Magneto from his thoughts. Magneto raised his chin to his former Acolyte.

"She is one of the most powerful mutants in the world. The last most powerful mutant on this planet was the one who made this." Magneto informed them holding up the derma chip that Apocalypse had used along with more like it to enslave him.

"Jean is nowhere near that level of power..." Charles whispered. Eric turned to look at his friend wearing a knowing smirk behind his helmet.

"You do not sound convinced, Charles." Xavier became uncharacteristically quiet, the type of quiet where he had nothing to add, not the silence of listening. He became lost in his thoughts.

"So what?" Rogue challenged Magneto. "So what if she was, why do you care?" Rogue chimed in with a little too much bite than she had intended. She felt she needed to defend. "It's not like their powers are anything alike?" Magneto walked over to Rogue and stood within a foot of her, she had to fight the urge to back up a few inches; she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was intimidated by his proximity.

"It's not the powers, child," He educated her slowly; "it's the power."

oOo

!

The fire alarm suddenly went off in the building causing anyone below their expected attention level that morning to jump into action. For most it was a well rehearsed routine to stop what they were doing, switch off their instruments, especially gas powered ones used for welding, and then walking to their nearest exit to dedicated areas outside. No one was scared or panicked, this happened all the time and it was always a glitch; why would this time be any different.

One technician, along with a handful of trained personnel in the factory ran to their dedicated response points outside the building to put on their fire fighting equipment while security performed a roll call.

"Avner B.?"

"Here!" He called out while pulling on his heavy gear. His name was marked off security's list before he had to re-enter the building as a practised and dedicated member of the team. Security noted each of the response teams names prior to re-entry and nodded to them go in.

They pulled open the doors back into the main production area and fanned out to establish and deal with the cause of the alarm. It didn't take them long to rule out the assembly side of the building as having led to the alarm. So far no smoke, it was looking more and more likely that the whole ordeal was just a bug in the alarm system. They moved their focus to the next most likely and highest risk area to search for the fire, the warehouse. Avner led the way and pushed open the blast doors slightly to make his way in.

Ka-BOOM!

The technician turned fire fighter was launched back hard on to his rear by a forceful explosion that threw the doors back towards him. The fact he had only started to open the doors may have been his only saving grace. He felt two arms under his shoulders pulling him back up into a standing position while they asked him something.

"-hurt?" Avner shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears but quickly nodded giving the hand signal for 'I'm okay' in response. Someone got on the radio quickly.

"-confirmed there is a fire, it's in the warehouse, over." Static came over their hand held radios and then...

_Click!_

"_The fire department is on their way, E.T.A. five minutes, over." _The sound came over the radio. Avner recalled lines from his training; down in hours, across in minutes, up in seconds. Five minutes and the fire would take out the whole factory and no one there could afford the associated loss of income; they needed to try to control the blaze.

"I'm going in for a better look!" Avner called out to the others, who didn't object, as he double checked that his face mask and gear were secure and used his shoulder to heave against the door to the attached warehouse. He felt the heat on his skin immediately despite his protective clothing, which made him grateful for the special material. He squinted his eyes into the intermittent light from the flames. He gasped and jumped back out to the others.

"MUTANTS!" He exclaimed to the others. "IT'S AN ATTACK!"

oOo

"How can you be sure that it was Jean?" Charles was inflated with debate on this matter, to clear the muddied name of his charge. Magneto held out the his fist, opening it to reveal the derma chip he was carrying. It floated up into the air in front of him. Charles was slightly entranced by its motion like a snake charmed; Eric looked at it reverently, almost hungrily.

"I have tried nearly every way imaginable to activate these derma-chips and the rest of Apocalypse's technology for months now," Magneto's voice reverberated around the Cerebro chamber, where they had moved their conversation away from unnecessary prying ears and eyes, "I have had no success, I confess that it is well beyond my level of comprehension." Eric took his eyes of the chip and looked at Charles. "So why is it that the only time there was even a flicker of life in them, it corresponded to massive release of energy in the New York State area at the same time as the Rochester incident?"

"It could have been a coincidence." Xavier remained calm and cool but Magneto didn't entertain the notion for a second and laughed off Charles attempt at casting doubt.

"I don't believe in coincidences, Charles, and neither do you." Magneto smiled smugly. Xavier shook his head.

"So what were you planning, Eric?" He asked impatiently. "To come here, ask Jean to activate the technology and hand over control to you?"

"Actually, a collaboration had crossed my mind." Xavier nodded, knowing full well had the tables been turned, Magneto wouldn't hesitate to simply take the technology from them. That said, when it came to Apocalypse, the more knowledgeable people around the higher their chances were of success. "Forge's cube?" Magneto interrupted Xavier's thoughts. Xavier sighed.

"Interesting isn't it?" Xavier started to increase his level of concern for Forge's welfare and the fate of Logan and his team that went in search of Forge. However, with other forces at play he wasn't sure if sharing information would help or put their mission at more risk.

"Whatever technology Forge has designed, there is a signature there that is in some of Apocalypse technology – Jean and Forge have answers I need!" Xavier knew desperation when he saw it; Magneto was either an addict to power or a man very much afraid of being controlled.

"Why were you trying to activate them, Eric?" Xavier asked calmly and sedately. "Hasn't his technology done enough evil already?"

"This is not mere technology, Charles," Magneto's voice echoed with confidence around the chamber, "This is power." Charles looked away from Eric. Magneto waited for him to say something but he didn't. "What's the matter, Charles? Aren't you going to start telling me that power corrupts? Or would that be bad for business?" Xavier's face twitched at Magneto's taunt but he didn't leave him see it. He raised his head in response.

"It's not power that corrupts, Eric; it's the temptation to use it..."

Un-snikt!

Gambit leaned on the wall, watching Rogue suddenly retract her claws on one hand as she jumped a little back from the large metal doors. His eyes went to trying to read her instead of instinctively being hypnotised by watching the skin through her punctured glove heal – he was actually starting to get used it. She shielded most of her eyes from him with her white bangs but he could make out a frown.

She had heard something and either she didn't like it or she didn't like to hear it.

oOo

Cyclops saw the door opening slightly, he cursed silently in his head; the alarm would've made everyone evacuate but he nearly forgot about emergency response teams. He needed a diversion. He looked around desperately and spotted some large cylinders of Oxyacetylene. They had barely any pressure left; it was a risk but he needed to take it to buy themselves more time. He pointed his visor at the almost empty cylinders that were about twenty meters from the blast doors.

Ka-BOOM!

Whoever was coming in was pushed back by the force of the successive explosions whereas him and his team were at the other side of the warehouse doing their best to destroy the thirty odd Sentinels they had found, built discretely by Worthington Industries.

Cyclops turned back to help his team. Sunspot knocked over one sentinel into another but they didn't cause the domino effect he was hoping for. X-23 sliced off the head off another Sentinel and pierced it through the chest to ruin its hydraulics and electrics. Cyclops blasted away the falling head into the wall just in time before it almost fell right on top of Iceman. Laura was either too caught up in the destruction to notice or didn't care enough to not be reckless. Kurt stood high in the rafters ready in the event that they had to suffer anymore intrusions.

Cyclops and the others had to destroy as many of these monsters as possible, it was what Xavier had sent them there for, it was what he had seen in the mind of Brad Saunders. From what Scott could see around him, none of the X-men struggled with those orders.

Cyclops heard a sound in his ear.

_Click!_

"_The fire department is on their way, E.T.A. five minutes, over."_

That wasn't good news; they had less than five minutes to destroy about ten more sentinels before there would be too many civilians around. All Cyclops could think about was better ways he could have used his time so far.

"MUTANTS!" Cyclops' head spun around to the blast doors leading to the production area. "IT'S AN ATTACK!" They all heard it but Laura seemed to react to something completely different.

"I think this is about to get a whole lot harder!" Laura warned them loudly as she sliced off another Sentinel head that sparked as it fell to the ground...

**En****d of Chapter 53**

**A.N. Hiya! Sorry for the delay (as usual), I've been working all night shifts recently - really messes up the internal clock and thought function! Good news though, I'll be heading to good ol' Canadia next month - any tips/advice on the best things to see between Vancouver and Montréal from people who've been there? Also, long time no see, leave me a review/message to catch up! c",) **

**~Rí  
**


	54. Chapter 54

**R&R, RR**

******Not my characters (mostly) this is just for entertainment!**  


**Chapter 54**

He finished off the drink that he had been told to take by people more knowledgeable than him and it tasted rotten, even by his standards. That said, he had to admit that he felt much better. These X-men really knew what they were doing.

He leapt off the bed feeling that bounce in his spring yet again and landed on a point on the floor balanced easily on the tips of his toes and the tips of his fingers feeling hungry for the first time in a few days. He decided to find something a bit tastier than that medicine. He bounced and hit the door with his heels knocking it off its hinges with a loud crack as it hit the opposite wall in the hallway, startling the two girls in the corridor.

He looked up from his crouched position next to the broken door and saw Boom Boom and Amara who had just happened to be passing by at that moment.

"You know, doors do have handles..." Tabitha said dryly to Toad.

"Heh, yeah;" He replied, scratching his head for something to say back. 'Thank you and co for saving me' just wasn't a viable option. "Am, have you seen my boy Freddie?" Tabitha nodded and tipped her head to gesture to upstairs.

"I think he's devouring the kitchen." Toad nodded and leap frogged over them to head upstairs, again feeling much better. He landed lightly and turned his head back to the girls.

"Thanks yo..." He said quickly and not overly loud and started off bouncing his way down the hall. Amara gave him a small smile and Tabitha grinned broadly.

"No problem!" She shouted after him, he cringed and shook them from his head and kept going until he found his way to the elevator when he heard a voice carrying from down the hall, a voice he had not heard in a while. He quickly shivered.

"What's the matter, Charles? Aren't you going to start telling me that power corrupts? Or would that be bad for business?" Toad did not want to see that man and quickly pushed whatever buttons he needed to call the elevator to his level. The doors opened with a soft sigh, he jumped in and pressed all buttons that were higher than the level he was on as the doors closed behind him.

Shortly, the doors opened to the main foyer and he stepped out. He saw a corridor that he thought led to the kitchen but he also saw the front doors that led to freedom. Freedom did not work out well for him the last time, he knew he needed to be standing on the side of power; he pivoted to go to the kitchen and decided to avoid debating his loyalties in his head for the time being.

He hopped past a phone in the hallway that looked like it was for general use and the words 'power' and 'loyalties' popped into his head once more. He stopped in his tracks and went straight for the telephone.

He picked up the receiver and dialled the one sequence of numbers that he had long since memorised and knew he would never really forget. His heart started racing a fraction as he waited for her to pick up. Eventually, she did.

"Sweetums!" He exclaimed. "I know you must've been worried sick-" he blurted out rapidly before being interrupted. His shoulders slumped a little. "It's Toad..."

oOo

Beast drew another mechanism on the glass of one of the laminar air hoods in his lab yet again, attempt number whatever. Jubilee was sitting back on the facing counter top writing down everything he wrote, even if it was wrong and didn't work at least they would have a record of what they tried. It was the least she could do, without Mr. McCoy coming up with the steps and directions there was nothing she could contribute apart from documenting their 'Edison's light bulb' approach to finding a cure for LDX poisoning.

Hank lost momentum in his scribbles when he came to the same dead end in the reactions, having practically exhausted his knowledge when a fresh voice timidly interrupted.

"What are you trying to get to?" A young woman was standing in the doorway staring at him wide eyed. She was tall and slender with long straight black hair, her features clearly of Southeast Asia genetics but her accent was of East coast United States, and wearing the generic X-men sweats that had been provided for a lot of the victims of Dr. Essex.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Jubilee asked Zara, one of the charges she had being minding. Zara looked away from the Beast who was of a distracting appearance to say the least.

"I'm feeling fine, thank you." She responded to Jubilee gratefully.

Truth be told, she had experienced no physical side effects that she knew of from the poisoning; her only damage was the memories she had been left with and the sense of loss for her friends. She needed to do something and she needed to get completely lost in it. She straightened her shoulders and walked up to the Beast to introduce herself politely.

"My name is Zara, Zara Jackson." She extended a hand.

"Dr. Hank McCoy." Hank fumbled and dropped the whiteboard marker he was holding she shake her hand; the fact that his hand was about ten times the size of hers was something he was still trying to get used to since the fateful day he truly became the Beast. Still, he appreciated the civilised and professional introduction.

"I haven't quite gotten the Doctor title yet." She smiled modestly. She recognised all of the reactions Hank was attempting and saw where he was struggling and with good reason.

"May I?" She did not wait for a reply while the thoughts were fresh and picked up the marker that had fallen and gestured to the board scanning four of the mechanisms. She circled one compound at the right of the top of the panel and one at the end and started drawing a new way of getting from A to B underneath them.

"This part can be done shorter, but what's the final compound you're trying to make?" Hank blinked a few times before he realised his good fortune and picked up Dr. Essex's report and quickly flicked through some pages with his giant hands...

oOo

Bamf!

Kurt appeared suddenly in cloud of brimstone behind two unsuspecting mutants. Alex and Sam nearly jumped out their skins in response to the noise and smoke.

"That's not the signal!" Was the first thing that uttered from Alex's mouth when he turned and saw Nightcrawler.

"Change of plan; I'm your new signal!" Kurt told them both quickly, grabbing a shoulder on each of them.

Bamf!

They reappeared in the X-jet, which was hovering high in the sky above the factory. Kurt let them go to punch in a few security codes into the controls to unlock the jet from autopilot, which also took it out of stealth mode.

"Sam!" Kurt shouted to his friend to come up to the front of the plane indicating to the co-pilot's seat. "We're in trouble below, I'll get the others, you get us ready to make a quick getaway!"

Bamf!

Kurt teleported away leaving the pair anxious and confused about what was happening. Sam ran up to the controls and stumbled awkwardly into the co-pilot seat. He looked around the controls to get his bearings and took the yoke in to his own hands. The jet gave a shudder of objection.

"Easy, girl!" Sam soothed his own nerves as he rotated the craft as it hovered, getting it pointed in the direction of home.

Alex watched Sam, not being able to do anything considering he was without training. Only having a couple of simulation hours clocked up with Scott; he couldn't help Sam fly. He couldn't help below either it seemed, Alex started to wonder again if he had just been shoved out harm's way...

oOo

_A few moments earlier..._

"_I think this is about to get a whole lot harder!" Laura warned them loudly as she sliced off another Sentinel head that sparked as it fell to the ground..._

Cyclops got a bad feeling as he watched the falling head showing signs of life but hoped his fears would be unfounded.

Iceman, Cyclops and Sunspot instinctively backed away from the giant robots, their eyes slowly moving upwards and looking at the faces of the killing machines; they saw all the eyes of the nine remaining Sentinels glow orange and come to life. Cyclops knew the time for stealth had come and gone.

Bamf!

Kurt reappeared in front of them, having come down from the rafters. Cyclops grabbed his shoulder urgently.

"Nightcrawler, grab Havok and Cannonball – tell them to get the plane ready and come back here!" Kurt nodded and Scott let go of him so he could teleport away.

Bamf!

"Okay, everybody get behind me!" Cyclops shouted, Iceman and Sunspot obeyed his orders immediately and stood between Cyclops and the main wall the production side. Iceman remained iced up and Sunspot was on fire, holding a fighting stance ready to take on the Sentinels if necessary. Laura, however, seemed to think that she knew better.

"Arghh!" Laura sliced through the chest of the Sentinel she had just decapitated and launched herself to the next nearest Sentinel that was unfortunately to be the closest one to Cyclops.

"X-23; get out of the way!" She was lost in a frenzy of destruction and wouldn't listen to him. Cyclops blasted two Sentinels either side of the one she was focussed on but that was all he could get that was in his line of sight without hitting Laura.

Cyclops felt a low rumble and saw smoke appear from the base of all the remaining Sentinels. He shouted at her again.

"X-23!" She kicked over the Sentinel that she was finished maiming when the next one caught her attention.

"Mutant signature identified." Laura looked up the glowing eyes of the remaining Sentinels like they were a challenging obstacle course and grinned.

"Laura!" Scott shouted out in desperation as his eyes were glowing hotly. He took out another Sentinel that he could see but she was too close to the others.

The rumble grew deafening.

X-23 sprung up to the attack the next Sentinel and landed on its shoulder. She stabbed it through the shoulder for grip and pulled back her other arm to strike at its neck when she heard a small noise very near her.

Click!

The Sentinel standing behind the one she had mounted an attack on had it raised its arm to point it at her. One of the twenty or so slots built into its forearm popped out with the click. Laura squinted and saw the glint of a needle hidden within the shadows of the slot. Her eyes widened in the milliseconds of realisation as the Sentinel took aim to shoot her.

Bamf!

She was surrounded by the strong smell of brimstone and felt too strong hands grab her quickly.

Bamf!

She reappeared in the X-jet with Kurt standing behind her. She shrugged violently out of his grasp.

"What were you doing! I had him!" X-23 turned and growled at Nightcrawler, she was intensely annoyed at the rescue.

"Had him, are you crazy? That thing would have killed you!" Kurt's Bavarian accent came out thicker when heated.

"It wasn't going to kill me!" Laura shouted back knowing full well that what those needles contained.

"Sorry, but it didn't look like it vanted to hug you!" Kurt adrenaline was pumping. Laura growled again, and suddenly he remembered the fact that he was arguing with a miniature Wolverine, one that didn't like him much to boot. "Fine," he declared, "next time I'll leave you alone!"

Kurt looked out the window when he saw a red glow from the ground. Alex and Laura jumped to the window to see what was happening only to see red blast emitting from roof of the Warehouse, but it wasn't just Scott's optic blasts leaving the building.

Laura ran to the ramp in the middle of the plane to lower it. Alex, Sam and Kurt instantly grabbed to hold on to something. Laura grabbed a handle next to the ramp as the whole cabin depressurised suddenly. She took a look out as the hatch was about half ways descended. Laura let go of the handle when the pressure equalised and took a few steps back from the ramp.

Laura sprinted forward and launched herself out of the plane, no parachute, with her front claws out.

"Laura!" Alex and Kurt yelled out, letting go of their holds to run for the ramp stopping just short of going over the edge, clearly too hesitant and sane to go after her.

oOo

_A few moments earlier..._

He took out a Sentinel as Laura leapt for another.

Bamf!

"Nightcrawler, get her out of here!" Kurt would almost have gotten dizzy at the speed at which he turned about.

Bamf!

Scott saw Kurt reappear instantly behind Laura just as the Sentinel behind was about to shoot her with something. Cyclops blasted the front Sentinel immediately when they disappeared from its shoulder, but as soon as it was out of the way the one behind it took aim at them instead.

"Take cover!" Scott shouted to the others amidst the deafening rumbling from the four remaining Sentinels. Iceman instantly created a thick bunker of ice to protect them from the blast they expected but the sound they encountered wasn't as expected.

Ching-ching ka-chink!

Objects rained down on them. Scott looked out to the sides of their bunker to see dart-like objects hit and get stuck in the walls on either side of them. This was the poison they had been warned about, it was a weapon meant explicitly to kill mutants.

The projectiles stopped coming and Scott took the opportunity to launch their offensive. He stuck his head out from behind the ice and blasted full strength where the Sentinels were, but it took him a second to realise he was blasting nothing as the Sentinels were now flying, the closest one hovering about twenty feet off the ground.

Scott adjusted his aim and blasted the one closest to them. He only got one of the Sentinels, the one that had launched the attack on them. He blasted out the roof but the rest had flown up too fast and were beyond his line of sight.

Iceman quickly created a roof for their structure to protect them from the falling debris that fell hard but Scott couldn't let the last three Sentinels get away. He ran out, almost getting hit by the rafter beams that were falling all around him.

He stood under the hole in the roof that the Sentinels had made and saw the Sentinels heading straight for the plane. They were moving too randomly for a clean shot that wouldn't risk the plane. It was then that Scott saw something coming from the plane.

"What the –"

oOo

The wind was hurdling past her ears as she became a human missile for one of the last three Sentinels. She pointed her claws out in front of her and went straight for one of the sentinels chests.

She was meters away went the Sentinel pick her up on his senses and adjusted slightly. She nearly missed her target but reached out and latched onto its leg with a stab.

Snikt!

She wasted no time and popped out a claw from one of her feet and sliced off one of the Sentinel's feet in turn. The loss of half of its propulsion upset the guidance system and the balance of the Sentinel was thrown off. It began to spin around in the air.

Laura resisted the G-forces that the motion set upon her and used all of her strength to climb up the leg of the Sentinel damaging whatever she could as she went. The sentinels blasted a shot at her to knock her off but missed due to the spinning motion.

It took aim again, this time right at her...

oOo

"Laura!" Alex and Kurt yelled out, letting go of their holds to run for the ramp stopping just short of going over the edge, clearly too hesitant to go after her. Kurt looked after her but didn't port to get her, she'd probably just jump out of the plane again if he did. The three Sentinels were heading up into the sky but Kurt could see that they weren't heading for them.

"I need to get the others!" Kurt shouted to Alex over the wind and noise of the jet engines on the plane. Alex fired up his hands as if he hadn't heard him; before Kurt knew what was happening, Havok shot out a blast at one of the Sentinels, the one Laura had attached herself to. Alex nodded to Kurt before Nightcrawler teleported away.

Alex looked at the two remaining Sentinels and took aim...

oOo

It took aim again right at Laura when a blast of red shot out from somewhere and knocked hit the Sentinel's head, jolting it enough to Laura to get a clean shot at its chest.

"Argh!" She screamed as she delivered a powerful blow to the electrics and hydraulics killing all power to the Sentinel. She suddenly felt weightless and realised her fate as gravity began taking hold of the situation.

Laura let go of her kill and separated herself from it with a kick as the wind picked up to tear past them, only then did she realise the unintended consequence of where it was going to fall, she watched as the Sentinel was destined to land on the factory where she had left the over X-men only moments ago. She looked down to where she would be introduced to the ground and saw concrete below her. She mentally prepared herself for the effect that physics was about to have on her.

"Crap..." She growled and closed her eyes tight...

oOo

Bamf!

Kurt appeared in the Warehouse and quickly looked around for Iceman, Sunspot and Cyclops who were spread out and looking up through the hole in the roof and the Sentinels.

"What's going on?" Cyclops demanded.

"Laura's crazy, she's gone all Kamikaze!" Kurt rapidly explained looking up and seeing more red shots from the plane. "Havok is trying to shoot down the other Sentinels!" They watched the three Sentinels entranced as one of the top two Sentinels broke away and started heading for the plane and Laura's Sentinel started to fall, but it was falling right for them.

"I think we should be leaving now..." Bobby chimed. Sirens were heard from outside and the factory blast doors were kicked in.

"Police! You're under arrest under Section 35 of the Mutant-" Three S.W.O.T. officers yelled out at them, guns aimed right for them when Cyclops urgently interrupted.

"You need to get out of here!" He shouted pointing upwards. "Run!"

Bamf!

The three officers heard more information over their radios and decided to take the warning seriously; they ran out of the building before it was flattened by a falling giant robot.

oOo

"Mutant signature identified"

The Sentinels conferred in milliseconds and one broke away to deal with the threat as the other continued on the primary mission.

oOo

Bamf!

Kurt brought them back to the plane where they landed heavily on the floor. Scott looked up to see a Sentinel outside the jet taking aim at them and suddenly firing at the plane.

"Everybody down!" He yelled as they all ducked for cover from a flurry of needles and darts; the loud raining of projectiles was heard against the hull of the plane but nothing penetrated its surface. In the back of his mind, Scott tactically thought that it was a bit of a waste of ammo on the Sentinels behalf, due to the fact that the X-jet was going to survive a few syringes.

It was then that he saw an unbelievably powerful red blast from the side of the X-jet incinerate the firing Sentinel as the other drifted away above them at high speed. Scott looked over and saw his brother on the ramp destroying the Sentinel; he was coughing and covered in cuts and shards of poisoned glass...

**En****d of Chapter 54**

**Review, say hi! **

**~Rí  
**


	55. Chapter 55

**R&R, RR**

******Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**  


**Chapter 55**

_A few moments earlier..._

Storm was flying high in the sky when she noticed that the crowd of remaining reporters and other citizens that she was trying to dissuade suddenly jumped out of their vans and vehicles and out into the pouring rain. The cars came to life and drove in all directions haphazardly with the lights flashing on and off. A van and car turned sharply at speed and drove straight into one another, crashing hard and igniting whatever fuel they had between them in a hot explosion.

"Goddess above!" Storm exclaimed and flew down closure to see if any one was hurt. She couldn't tell if there had been anyone in the vehicles but got on to her communicator.

oOo

Alarm bells started roaring in the mansion, Xavier rolled out of Cerebro with Magneto following closely behind him. The beacons flashed in the hallway and an automated voice came over the intercom system:

"Identified mutant approaching." Xavier placed his fingertips to his temple and after a moment he knew who the intruder was. With a quick backlash of a headache from trying to calm her down telepathically he ceased the connection and looked to Magneto.

"Magneto!" Storm's voice boomed through Xavier's communicator knowing that Charles wouldn't let Magneto out of his site while he was in the mansion. "What are you doing? You're going to get someone killed!"

Magneto looked perplexed but Charles responded to her quickly.

"Ororo, it's not Eric that's doing this! Help, the reporters, we're on our way!"

oOo

Outside in the humid and thundery air, news vans had been cast aside and reporters scattered for cover as their luck would turn against them at every turn. Amidst the chaos, a young girl with black and red hair and a matching red and black outfit walked calmly through. Her hands glowed blue with energy that shot out in every direction, hitting the vehicles and causing them to go crazy. She directed her hands and energy towards the front gates of the mansion grounds and fried the circuitry and the gates fell open entropically for her.

She stepped onto the grounds and Storm landed about twenty feet in front of her.

"Get out of my way, Storm." Wanda gave her a courtesy warning before proceeding. Storm's eyes glowed with brilliant lighting.

"What do you want, child?" Storm enquired as she built up power in the thunderheads.

"My father! I know he's in there, Storm; let me pass!" Wanda yelled out. Storm would not move.

"You will not fight here, this is our home – take your business elsewhere." Storm emphasised her speech with two strikes of lightning on either side of Wanda, but it did not deter her.

"He was the one who came here; I've waited too long for this, I won't wait any longer! Either step aside or I'll make you step aside." Storm did not budge from her position, instead she called upon the weather to strike her down, unfortunately her luck turned with Wanda's hex and the lightning struck Storm instead.

"Auntie-O!" Spyke yelled from nearby as he ran towards Storm, he took aim as he was running to surround Wanda with hot spikes. Storm was released from her own lightning and the sky cleared up. A few more spikes hit the ground near Wanda but she shot a curse towards Evan causing the next spike he had prepared in his arm to heat up out of control. "Gagh!" He grabbed his arm and tried to concentrate on cooling it down.

Tabitha, Amara, Jubilee and Ray darted out from the front of the mansion to help fight against whoever the intruder was, but stopped when they ran passed Rogue and Gambit who were just standing there watching at the top of the steps.

"What are you just standing there for?" Ray shouted back when he saw Rogue, Gambit staying still and then Tabitha who froze at the bottom of the steps just next to Ray.

"If that fille wants Magneto, she can have 'im." Gambit said callously, arms crossed.

"Yeah, I'm not fighting to defend that creep." Tabitha agreed. Ray looked to Storm and Spyke and Wanda, who he knew he would be powerless against given her power, and then looked back crossly at Rogue who stood still behind him.

"Rogue, aren't you going to do anything to help them?" Ray gestured towards Storm and Spyke. Rogue met Ray's stare, thought a bit and then growled and rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She decided. She suddenly ran forward and jumped high off the steps.

Bamf!

oOo

Bamf!

Rogue appeared in mid air in front of Magneto and practically body slammed him, grabbing his shoulders, bowling him over with her momentum in the process.

"Rogue!" Xavier turned to them to on their way outside but was met by a cloud of Brimstone where Eric had been.

oOo

Bamf!

"Hey, Wanda!" Rogue shouted out. Wanda turned and saw Rogue in the distance standing over Magneto who was flat on his back. Wanda dropped her attack on Spyke and Storm completely and started to march towards them full of misdirected anger.

"Rogue! You were hiding him from me, protecting him!" She accused Rogue.

"Do Ah look like Ah'm protecting him?" Rogue yelled back with added brass, "As far as Ah'm concerned you can have him!"

The group of reporters and spectators from outside the gates had diminished in size significantly, however, those few remaining slightly encroached on the property with whatever recording and broadcasting equipment they had.

oOo

They stared at the board in front of them pensively for a moment. The first two methods failed at the first and biggest hurdle, using precious time and raw materials. The Beast looked at her; she looked at him with hope. They both knew what the other was thinking, 'this could work'. They set to work oblivious to the commotion outside.

oOo

The Sentinel took aim against the X-jet.

"Everybody down!" He heard his brother yell, Alex heated his hands to form a hot shield to protect himself before the sudden onset of needles and darts; he heard the loud raining of projectiles against the hull of the plane in the background but he was focussing most of his attention and power on a thermal heat shield to incinerate anything from getting to him.

As the darts passed through the vicinity of his hands, some bits of hot, contaminated glass and metal got through, cutting his legs and face but most of the material in the dart vaporised as he had intended, unfortunately, the vapour cloud he had created engulfed him. He felt himself breathe in hot LDX that burned his throat along with vaporised silica and steel. He felt like he couldn't breathe, his body reacted to the chemical threat of extinction by releasing an almighty amount of energy.

An unbelievably powerful red blast erupted from his hands and chest to incinerate the firing Sentinel. The Sentinel quickly blackened, charred and practically sublimated in moments. Alex felt the solar energy coming from his hands not only coming from the stores he had from the sun, but drawing on his very own life source. He pulled his hands back into his chest to control and extinguish the fire he had started.

Suddenly, it was like someone blowing out the candles, and he felt weak and started coughing. He fell to his knees and nearly fell out of the hatch of the plane when he felt someone stop him.

"Alex!" Scott's voice was all concern for his baby brother.

"I'm oka-" A fit of coughing too control of Alex, he didn't even notice the other X-men lifting him on to a bunk and strapping him in; he just needed to breathe.

oOo

Scott strapped his brother in while Bobby raised the platform and Kurt and Sam started to move off at speed.

"Kurt! Where is that Sentinel headed?"

"It appears he's heading East!" Good, following him and going home are on the same path. The fearless leader wouldn't have to choose between his brother's welfare and the mission, not yet anyway.

"Follow East!" Scott ordered as Bobby came over to him and Alex. Scott place a hand on Alex's forehead

"Looks like he's burning up..." Scott decided. Iceman rubbed his hands together until they were slightly frosted then used one to place over Alex's forehead in Scott's place and he placed the other on the edge of Alex's bunk to cool him down.

"Thanks." Scott looked over the cuts. "We should clean him up, remove any poison from his skin." Alarms started to go off on the jet.

"Camouflage and signal blocker isn't working! We've been detected!" The plane's camouflage and stealth features had most likely been damaged by the Sentinel's attack. Bobby nodded to Roberto getting him to come over to them.

"Go! You're the best pilot; we'll take care of this." He addressed Scott, who was reluctant to leave his brother but knew that he was they're best chance at getting out of here.

Sam quickly hopped out of the seat and Scott leapt in next to Kurt to get them the heck out of dodge.

oOo

He woke up with a splitting headache. He sat upright grabbing his head, frightening the woman next to him.

"Ryan! What's wrong?" He suddenly felt her hands on his back and shoulders. He had startled Jan who had probably fallen asleep as well. It was a miracle he hadn't knocked her off the gurney.

"Turn on the news!" He gritted out through the pain he couldn't verbalise.

_oOo_

"_-Unbelieveable! Your watching WISN news, I'm Gary Michaels. News just in, there has been an explosion at a steel girders manufacturing plant in Wisconsin. Eye witness accounts from the scene allegedly suggest that this was not an accident and may be a mutant attack!"_

The ringing in her ears had stopped and she could hear clearly again. She blinked her newly formed eyes open and saw the outline of a kennel take shape, followed by the back wall of a house behind it. The noise from the television was booming in her ears. She lifted her right hand from her side and put in on the ground in front of her face, she rocked her body from lying on her left side to face down to free her left arm from underneath her. Now with two arms and two knees and two feet she felt ready to push herself up off the ground.

She managed to get to her feet and eventually found her balance as the dizzy feeling faded. She looked herself over, noting how well the X-men uniform had held up, only a few patches missing all in all. She looked down and saw her own blood art on the concrete on the ground, splashed out from the point of impact. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the back window of the house noting that she was completely destroyed in her own blood from the fall. She picked up her communicator but that too had been shattered in the fall.

"_News cameras are on the scene now, as you can see, the helicopter is zooming in on the plant, you can still see smoke coming from the building. Reports that I'm getting in right now say that there have been no worker fatalities, which is something to be grateful for at a time like this- wait, what is that?"_

Laura looked in through the glass and saw the sentinel she had been responsible from bringing down.

"_Folks, it appears that there is a giant broken robot in the middle of the building. Eye witness reports seem to be agreeing that the giant robot fell out of the sky."_ Laura turned. _"Wait,-"_ She stopped. _"Independent reports are coming in of unidentified flying objects sighted over Wyoming... Oklahoma and South Carolina- Nathan, have these reports been confirmed or is this some kind of public hysteria?" _

"I think I saw something fall over in this area; it might be one of them." A nearing voice caught Laura's attention.

A police man appeared behind the chicken wire fence at the back of a row of houses and looked through each garden and house for signs of fallen debris or other. He found other.

"Sweet Lord!" His eye witness appeared beside him a peered into the garden alongside. They saw an impossible amount of blood splayed out on the ground. No normal person could ever survive the fall his witness described and he knew no normal person could survive that amount of blood loss.

He saw a bloody hand print on the top of the neighbouring garden wall indicating the direction the mutant had fled. His duty told him to pursue, but his mind told him it could be a suicide mission – he wasn't trained to handle mutants. He decided to do the best thing for him and his family. He picked up his walkie-talkie to call for back up.

"_News just in about another mutant attack in Bayville, New York, outside a school for mutants! I have confirmation from the Whitehouse that has just been handed to me, the Whitehouse is aware of the current situation and that they are monitoring it closely. They are encouraging citizens to stay in their homes, that this is no cause for alarm, everything is under control!"_

oOo

"Everything is NOT under control!" He slapped the report that had been thrown together in a scramble by the people in his office. Rough radar images of sentinels fanned out from between the file covers.

"Where did those Sentinels come from?" The Press Secretary piped up, asking the obvious questions that he will have to deal with from the media.

"From Worthington Industries." The Secretary of Defense confirmed. The CJCS looked at him with a shocked expression. The Secretary added to his original statement under the stares of the President and the CJCS. "Senator Creed suggested an opportunity-" The Press Secretary made a sound that suggested this to be a PR nightmare. He uncrossed his arms to pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You had a private defence contract in the background this whole time?" He asked eyes closed, not wanting to hear any of it. The Secretary of Defense didn't immediately respond to the Press Secretary, but did so under the stare of the President with a nod.

"Yes." The President looked to a member of his team standing by one of the doors into the office.

"Get Creed in here." He asked her.

"Yes, sir." She nodded and stepped out of the room promptly. As soon as the door closed the Defense Secretary took a step towards the President.

"After the Apocalypse incident, I believed it tactically crucial to be prepared." The Defense Secretary responded but was cut off by the President who held up his hand to him.

"We're not going to get through a full inquiry here today." He silenced the Secretary as the door opened again; Senator Creed stepped through the doors, his eyes going to the President first.

"Mr. President; congratulations again on pass-" He stopped talking to take in the chill in the air and looked to the Defense Secretary who would not meet his gaze. Creed looked down and smiled a small smile to himself; he knew what was going on.

"Tell me about the contract with Worthington Industries?" The President asked.

oOo

Magneto got to his feet quickly and shook off the teleportation dizziness. He rose in the air straight away, starting to fly himself away using his powers of magnetism. Wanda reached out a hand and with her powers, she encircled him in a black magic to stop him, cursing him she made him crash to the ground.

Xavier made it out to the front door and observed the scene before him. He saw Magneto's powers were locked by Wanda and he saw Rogue backing away from it all. He could feel the anguish radiating off her but her mind was too chaotic to attempt a connection. He would have to try to fix this the old fashioned way.

"Wanda!" The Professor shouted out to her. She turned her head as a reflex to Xavier but looked back at her father who was held tight to the ground in front of her. He was still trying to use his powers to free himself from hers but they were working against him; the metal on his belt, shoulders and helmet were squeezing him painfully. "Wanda!" She was ignoring him, lost to her anger but not to her rage, otherwise, Eric wouldn't still be struggling.

Wanda had released her hold on everyone but Magneto. Spyke and Storm had retreated back to the front of the mansion. Reporters silently crept in closer, broadcasting the scene to the world.

Xavier placed his fingers on his temples to re-attempt connecting with her again. Wanda and Xavier flinched but her chaotic magic flew out again in a backlash.

"Go away, Professor!" She shouted back to him coldly. Xavier felt her power over him; she had gotten much stronger since their private session in the asylum years before. He felt like his life was flashing before his eyes in a sudden onslaught of memories from throughout his life...

oOo

"Nearly, there..." He whispered holding his temples. Mystique looked at him. They both entered the room the boys were working in to witness the final steps being completed. Forge and Torque were getting ready to power up the machine for the first time. Mystique was scared and excited at the same time, her heart was pounding so loud in her chest.

Thump! Thump!

But that wasn't her heart...

She felt the ground trembling.

"No!" She screamed, and grabbed Wyndegard by the lapels. "Whatever happens, you make sure that they finish it!" She let go and stepped between the window and Mastermind.

Six Adamantium claws punched through the outer door and sliced through the hinges on one side and the security locks on the other making a slightly altered entrance as he kicked in the door.

**End of Chapter 55**

**(Sheepishly waves) Yeah, I'm still around... Review, say hi! **

**~Rí**


	56. Chapter 56

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 56**

_Six Adamantium claws punched through the outer door and sliced through the hinges on one side and the security locks on the other making a slightly altered entrance as he kicked in the door._

_A few moments earlier..._

The passing of time was hard to tell in the basement without windows; the occasional distant sound of turning car wheels squeaking on a smooth, well-worn concrete surface somewhere else in the sub-level was keeping him alert but the novelty of the sound was starting to wear off. The other, normal, body guards had rotated shifts twice already but all Pietro and Lance were rotating was who's turn it was to fetch sustenance, and with Pietro's metabolism Lance felt like he had the drawn the short straw. The street lights had come on outside on his most recent trip about an hour beforehand. He sighed heavily.

"Does she expect us to just stand here all night?" He muttered. The body guards remained silent and vigilant; Pietro was pacing a trench into the concrete. Lance sighed again in frustration and fell back against the wall behind him, but a loud bang made his shoulder blades bounce back off the wall as soon as they had touched it.

The nearest door to the basement flew across the ground and lodged itself firmly into a parked car, both the car and the door suffering as a result. The bodyguards both said something into their sleeves and footsteps could be heard from somewhere coming closer.

Logan stepped through the doorway, nostrils flaring; Forge was near.

"Like, that was totally unnecessary..." Kitty observed as she phased herself and Colossus through the wall next to the door Logan had kicked in. Lance froze momentarily as his eyes locked with Kitty's. Kitty let go of a now metallic Colossus to face Lance square on; he'd seen that look on her before, whatever he had done in the past, all of his heroics when they were fighting Apocalypse, it didn't matter anymore – she had already made up her mind about him. He straightened up immediately and took to a fighting stance as two large bodyguards stepped between them, their weapons drawn and pointed at the three X-men.

oOo

"_Go away, Professor!" She shouted back to him coldly. Xavier felt her power over him; she had gotten much stronger since their private sessions in the asylum years before. He felt like his life was flashing before his eyes in a sudden onslaught of memories from throughout his life..._

She was little girl in Morocco trapped under a wall; she was screaming for her father as she was trapped in a mental institution; then a little boy brought up being told everyday he was a devil child – an abomination; feeling responsible for picking on a kid in his class who later attempted suicide; being told that you'll never walk again...

Rogue lifted her head up from the ground keeping her ears covered with her gloved hands until she realised these were not sounds she needed to block out. Her face was wet with tears from everyone's most painful memories. She tried to block them out, similar to her usual routine when she normal felt over crowded. Her head pounded with the effort but she managed to hear her own thoughts once more, pushing the rest to the back of her mind and blocking the others.

She looked around her and saw the X-men on the ground writhing in agony, each one grabbing their heads. She saw the same with the reporters and police at the gate, on the ground, their equipment scattered; and she saw Magneto caught by Wanda's powers feeling her pain, where Wanda herself was on her knees surrounded by her own chaotic energy, refusing to let go of Xavier. Rogue looked to the Professor who was slumped in his chair surrounded by Wanda's magic; his nose was bleeding.

oOo

He kept his eye on the brilliant yellow glow as he flew them East towards home. Although their camouflage had gone, nothing was following them... yet. Best he could figure was that someone was probably out there somewhere cutting through the no-fly-zone red tape. In the background, Alex's coughing was getting worse; his brother was now on Oxygen. They'd have to break away soon for home but he couldn't take his eyes off the Sentinel.

"Any ideas?" He said quietly over to Kurt in the seat next to him, co-piloting.

"Ja, plenty, but nothing that would be of any help..." Kurt responded referring to this situation and the one he had to face when he got home of explaining to a certain clawed mutant why another clawed mutant was no longer with them. The many different ways that Logan would kill him were keeping him a little distracted from the moment, however, Scott remained focussed.

"I only have one," They were both pressed into their seats a little deeper as Scott accelerated the jet to fly closer to the glow; Scott shook his head, "But you're definitely not going to like it..."

Kurt attempted to swallow his anxiety, unfortunately knowing just what Scott had in mind.

oOo

Rogue looked between Xavier, Magneto and Wanda; she had to assess her options fast and act faster. She did the only she could think of to diffuse the situation; she had to remove the catalysts.

Bamf!

She teleported next to Magneto and grabbed him by the shoulders.

Bamf!

She reappeared next to Xavier with Magneto and teleported both of them away from Wanda.

Bamf!

oOo

Bamf!

Nightcrawler's arms, legs and tail flailed out to grab hold of anything solid as the wind cut through him almost ripping his fur off. His tail wrapped around something firm and he quickly took something out of his uniform and attached it to the back of the machine he was hanging onto. Kurt could feel the Sentinel vibrating through his feet and tail as if it was speaking but with the wind cutting past his ears, Kurt couldn't hear what it was saying; probably something along the lines of 'a little blue mutant is on my back'...

Kurt looked behind him to the X-jet back a little in the distance just as he felt the Sentinel twisting.

Kurt inhaled an unmanly scream as he let go of the Sentinel.

Bamf!

oOo

Bamf!

"Gaagh!" Kurt reappeared at the front of the centre aisle in the jet and rapidly tumbled and rolled with his slightly faster momentum until he slammed into the back wall. "Autsch!"

"Nice job, Kurt!" Scott called back to Kurt, who was still upside down with his back against the wall and chin pressed to his chest and the tip of his tail passing in front of his face; the tracer was shining like a beacon on their console.

"Don't... ever... ask me... to do that... again..." Kurt uttered between pants of breath. Scott smiled before another fit of coughing from Alex reminded him of the next job at hand. He turned to Sam who had temporarily taken Kurt's place as co-pilot.

"Get me a line to the Institute; let's give them a heads up that we're coming." Scott glanced at the long range radar once more to see if anyone else was chasing them.

oOo

"_Base, come in. Over."_ His voice echoed across an empty console in an empty room...

"_Base, come in. Over."_ And down an empty corridor...

"_We're flyin' with a broken wing."_ Bouncing off closed doors and travelling through open ones. _"ETA approximately ten minutes." _The sound mingled with the steady rhythm of the heart monitor, _"Over."_ and surrounded her.

"_Is anybody there?"_ Was there? _"Over."_ Was it over?

oOo

"No one's respondin'." Sam replied quietly.

"Okay." Scott thought for a second. "Okay. We'll try again when we're a little closer; if we can't get them then we should be able to get them on the short range communicators." It was time to break away from the Sentinel to head home. Scott looked ahead to it. Kurt came to stand behind them.

"At least we have a trace-" Kurt started but was cut off when the Sentinel suddenly banked a hard left just Scott was beginning to contemplate going left himself.

Scott reacted fast and banked left, though not as sharply, to go after the Sentinel; anyone who wasn't strapped in was thrown right by unforgiving G-forces.

Bobby and Roberto held on tight to the handle bars on the walls and started to feel like their arms were going to get ripped out of their sockets.

Whatever breath Alex was holding in his lungs he felt it leave his chest through his Oxygen mask as his body reacted to the G-forces; his only concern was whether or not he would be able to breathe in again. The gauze that Bobby was trying to attach to his shoulder fell away revealing hot, angry red lines extending from where the shards of poisoned glass had cut him, a sample of the damage covering his body. He felt his hands heating up with every beat of his heart.

oOo

She felt her muscles slowly release from their contracted foetal position on the wet ground. Her head was pounding, which was a relief because she was convinced that she had died; crushed to death. She shakily looked up and saw her students looking as bad as she felt as they each lifted their head from the ground, utterly confused, some of them having lived a lifetime of pain in mere moments. The only person standing in the vicinity was Wanda. She too did not look like she knew what had happened.

Suddenly, the area was flood lit. Ororo thought it was lightning as she her a thunderous sound but the light did not die away. She tried to shield her eyes from the light to identified the source above her and felt heavy with dread when she saw the monsters above them.

"Sentinels!" Amara screamed.

"Get back!" Spyke shouted to the few remaining police and civilian TV crews that were encroaching on the property as four sentinels showed up at the institute to 'defuse' the situation in Bayville.

Thunder echoed in the sky and the wind picked up around Storm and rushed her up about thirty feet; she put herself closest to the machines, ensuring that all of her students were behind her. Wanda, showing concern for her own safety and thus proving some level of sanity, shook off whatever was driving her before as she primed herself for a fight; intense magic surrounded her hands and Gambit flicked decks of lit cards between his. Amara and Ray lit up with fire and electricity respectively. Tabitha stood next to Amara on the steps of the institute and Rahne and Jamie stepped out the front doors to join them.

"Mutants, you are under arrest: United States federal code; acts of domestic terrorism." The sentinels robotically and spoke addressing them all. "Do not resist." The monotone voices concluded their first warning.

The one of news crew's camera men turned on the bright light at the front of his camera that he had pointed at one of the Sentinels' heads. The Sentinel's head turned to face it.

"Mutants resisting arrest. Authorisation to use force granted." It took aim at the news crew van and shot at it causing the crew to disperse but other's still kept their cameras rolling as lightning shot down from the sky to blast the arm off of the offending Sentinel.

oOo

Logan walked towards the bodyguards, his steps unfaltering. He directed his question at Quicksilver.

"Where's Forge?" He snarled. Pietro crossed his arms in a confident fashion.

"He had an opportunity he couldn't refuse." He replied; Kitty looked at him crossly.

"Yeah, well I bet you didn't give him much of a choice!" Kitty barely finished her sentence before Pietro had his arm around her neck, grabbing her from behind. His mouth was closer to her left ear than she cared for.

"You better look closer, Kitty-Cat; we didn't kidnap him." He whispered before she phased out of his grasp. Pietro making the first move set off everyone else into fight mode. She turned, swinging her leg to kick him in the head but he was already standing next to Avalanche.

"Your girlfriend's got a temper." Pietro laughed. Wolverine charged the two bodyguards first as they shot straight at him. Kitty walked, phasing through bullets to get to Pietro and Lance.

Snikt! Snikt!

Logan had taken five bullets to the chest before he turned and sliced through the gun of the first bodyguard and punched him hard, knocking him out cold with his heavy arm; the second was still shooting. The next bullet hit his Achilles tendon caused him to drop to one knee involuntarily. The bodyguard backed up to get behind a car taking aim again at Logan from his new vantage point.

Suddenly, the car that was providing cover lifted in front of him. He looked around for the cause of the phenomenon and saw a massive metallic giant holding up the car with one hand. The bodyguard turned his gun on the mutant and fired.

The bullet ricocheted with a loud ping, almost hitting the gunman himself. Colossus tossed the car towards the other suited men heading in their direction with guns drawn, causing them to dive out of the way of flying car. The car crashed with a bang and ear-piercing screeches of metal across the concrete until it came to a halt.

The rest of the guards looked up from their cover to see a flying bodyguard being tossed in their direction. They opened fire on the two mutants who had tossed him.

Kitty stood in front of Pietro and Lance, looking for an explanation.

"I don't want to hurt you, Kitty." She felt the ground tremble, but knew it was an empty threat from him; after all, they were in the basement of a twenty-five story building, any quakes would bring the whole place down and she knew he wouldn't do that.

"Where's Forge, what have you done with him?" She demanded.

"Just leave it be." Lance tried to get her to stop pressing the issue but he knew she wasn't going to let it go. The tremors strengthened to emphasise his point.

"You're not going to bring the building down on me, Lance." She called his bluff and he smiled, he always liked to show-off in front of Kitty.

"No, I'm not..." His eyes rolled back in his head and raised a fist to create a deep crack that ran quickly under Colossus' feet before quickly opening up into a deep chasm, swallowing Colossus instantly before closing over.

"No!" Kitty's eyes widened as her friend disappeared into the ground. She ran over and dove, head first, into the ground phasing deep down to find and retrieve her friend.

Lance's attention turned to Wolverine, who was taking heavy fire now that Colossus wasn't there to act as his cover. Another crack formed in the concrete destined for the feral man sending cement dust up into the air obscuring people's vision. Lance had created another abyss where the Wolverine was, to send him the way of the others.

It got very quiet and the shooting stopped. The bodyguards had ceased fire and started to appear from behind the cars they were using for cover. As the cement dust settled, they couldn't see where he had gone. Three of the guards walked slowly towards the edge to look down to see how far their furry friend had gone. They looked over, and just saw darkness.

They looked at one another and started to smirk until a deep rumbling growl was heard from above.

Unsnikt! Unsnikt!

Logan retracted the claws that were keeping him stuck to the ceiling between the large concrete clad beams and strategically fell on top of the three guards closest to him, knocking them and taking them with him into the ground.

Snikt! Snikt!

Logan's claws stabbed into the two sides of the precipice to decelerate his fall as the others were falling victims to gravity. He quickly made his way back up to the top and sprang back up to the ground. He saw a door behind Pietro and walked straight for it. The shooting recommenced and he felt his back being mangled by bullets. Pietro had the sense to get out of his way and Lance was otherwise occupied now that Kitty had re-emerged.

oOo

Storm continued to fry the first Sentinel as Wanda trapped another using her magic. Gambit, Spyke and Boom Boom targeted the third with their variety of fiery projectiles and Amara and Ray took the last one.

Wanda used her hex to send one of the Sentinels crashing into the Sentinel Storm was attacking to knock them both out as they crashed and burned heavily into the wooded area around the mansion. Storm went to assist her nephew as his spikes and Gambit's cards were only serving to mess up the Sentinels paint work and Tabitha was just disorienting the robot. The Sentinel caught Storm in his sights before she struck him with lightning and shot a blast in her direction, the shockwave was enough to knock her to the ground.

Gambit ran over to her, still throwing exploding cards as Wanda trapped that one with another hex. He helped Storm back to her feet.

"Get me up dere!" He shouted to her, his eyes blazing red with intensity. There was no time to argue as the winds picked up around them both. Ororo grabbed Gambit's hand and flew them both up high. She blasted one Sentinel with lightning and flew past the other, letting Remy's hand go as she did.

Gambit dropped down and fast onto the shoulders of the Sentinel that Amara was trying to melt the legs off of and grabbed its head.

"In case you missed Bastille Day dis year, mon ami!" The Sentinel's head lit up like a magenta fire work and Gambit jumped off its shoulders with as much power as possible to get to cover.

The Sentinel's head exploded with a deafening bang and fell to its knees, collapsing on its front causing some of the X-men on the ground to scramble, including Wanda, which caused her to lose focus on Sentinel she was holding in a spell.

A fifth Sentinel came out of nowhere and flew down to join the last remaining Sentinel; both took aim at Rahne and Jamie who were standing at the front of the mansion.

oOo

Logan quickly sliced through the lock and hinges on the door and kicked it in hard. The heavy metal slammed against the opposite wall creating a cloud of plaster dust, the shock sending webs of fracture lines across the laminated glass window separating the first room from where Forge and Torque were working. As the dust cloud enveloped them, Mystique grabbed Wyndegard and shoved him to the door leading into the work area; she needed him to get the boys to finish the job. Even before the dust had settled, she could see his shiny claws as he turned to face her.

She whipped her head around to deliver a heavy round house kick to his head but he dodged it. She growled in frustration. She jumped up into the air and aimed to land a heavy kick to Wolverine who just stepped out of the way in time. Concrete and plaster were dispersed into the air with the force of the kick.

Logan looked through the window and caught a glimpse of Forge and a wimpy looking kid and Mastermind. Mystique caught his line of sight and grew strongly protective, almost maternal. She jumped again and became the Juggernaut mid-air. Logan dodged the attack just in time. She transformed into Sabretooth and lunged again and swiped at him furiously at him. There was a slight touch of déjà vu about this show, Logan grinned.

"Come on, do you really think you're better than me?" He taunted her. She morphed once more into a different feral mutant.

Snikt! Snikt!

"Do you?" She growled back at him, her form a perfect mirror image of himself.

oOo

Kitty re-emerged with the Russian who was largely out of breath and had to change back to his non-metallic form. The look of concern on Kitty's face was hurtful; what made him so special? Lance started to feel very angry.

The ground shook and car alarms started to go off. The beams that Logan had previously stabbed and weakened started to crack. The floor above deflected slightly and a column began to buckle with the tremors; that was enough to scare off Pietro, who made a quick exit in a flash followed promptly by what was left of the security team. The ground continued to shake until parts of the ceiling started to fall.

oOo

It was a faceoff between the real Wolverine and the shape shifter dressed in a Wolverine's clothing again but this time, it wasn't Rogue full of Mystique's rage, it was the real Mystique; calm, calculated and in control of her emotions for the fight. The two circled each other waiting for the other to strike. Logan spotted Forge in out of the corner of his eye and decided he wasn't going to wait for her to strike first.

He swiped at her but she side stepped and elbowed him heavily in the back. She didn't have bones of Adamantium like him but she was well able to change her weight and density to make it feel like she had. He tried to roll with the blow and turned to stab her side but she blocked his swipes with a kick, hitting his wrists for a clean break on each arm. He caught her leg under his arm and trapped it as his wrists mended themselves and made a move to kick her in the torso hoping to send her flying back, but she bent backwards as he twisted and he was forced to leave her arm go as she flipped in the air to regain her vantage and landed on his feet.

Logan saw Torque and Forge in through the window and Mastermind, she caught his glance and growled in his low voice.

"Who did you bribe in the Institute to kidnap Forge?" Logan knew it must have been an inside job, he would have noticed if Lance or Pietro had been by and Mystique wouldn't have come to the Institute herself, not while Rogue was there. She wouldn't risk another confrontation with her since Rogue's brush off after Apocalypse. Mystique growled a sinister laugh.

"What makes you think I had to bribe them?" Mystique was taunting him morphing quickly from Logan to Kitty to Bobby to Piotr to Jubilee to Rogue before shifting back to Logan's form; she was messing with his head and he knew it. "Yes, your precious honourable students; and one betrayed you. It must be driving you nuts, knowing that someone's loyalties do not lie with you. Maybe I asked my son for a favour; or maybe Rogue-" He growled loudly at that. Despite his feelings on the matter, this was a distraction, he didn't want to waste more time because it seemed to him that that was what she wanted.

"Why Forge? And the other kid?" She shrugged his manly shoulders as they danced their little circle, playing cat and mouse. "I can see you're not keeping Wyndegard around for kicks; must be losing yer touch if you couldn't get them to do what you wanted without the telepath." Mystique's brow furrowed on Logan's face with the implication of age being involved. They continued side stepping.

"They had skills that were of use to me." Had, Logan snapped his head around and noted as Mystique had that Torque had stopped working and it was just Forge moving around the machine making the last finishing touches to whatever it was they were creating for her using his drilling arm. Logan needed to know what it was for. But Mystique didn't feel like talking anymore.

She leapt with such strength and ferocity to cover the space between them with ease; she had six claws aimed straight for his heart. He caught her wrists with a turn but their combined momentum knocked them both through the window pane separating them from the workspace where Mystique's new toy was being constructed, shattering the glass as they went. The glass rained down on them as they hit the floor with a thud, but the thud turned into a rumble. Tremors started to shake the ground around them.

oOo

Bamf!

They re-appeared at the lake still lit by the early evening glow despite that the sun had set; the lake was the first place that Rogue thought of. Magneto collapsed in a heap and the Professor remained slumped in his chair, his nosebleed drying up. Rogue turned to him and shook him by the shoulders gently to bring him around. She could hear that Magneto's breath was a little laboured as his body adjusted back to normal.

"Professor?" Rogue called, but Xavier could barely make a sound in response. She continued to shake him a little as Magneto got to his feet.

"Is Charles alright?" Magneto asked her behind. Rogue didn't really think he had a right to get involved, or show concern after he let this happen. The part of her that could feel Wanda's pain just wanted him to leave and never come back. There were so many personalities within her that wouldn't trust him, but there was also that little boy in Poland.

"Ah'm sure he'll be fine." She said quietly as she tried to think of what to do next. With Magneto gone from the Institute, Wanda would most likely leave there to find him, unless she was expecting him to go back there... The rest of the X-men could handle themselves against the media crew but against Wanda, she was less certain. Wanda had no issues with the X-men directly, they were not who she wanted. But at the same time, would she just sit there and wait patiently? Rogue was doubtful. She had no idea that they were currently distracted by some things bigger.

oOo

"Lance stop!" Kitty screamed. She encouraged Colossus towards the claw scratched entrance that Logan had made earlier so that he could find Logan and get him out before the building would collapse; intangible and safe from falling debris, she stayed to talk sense into Lance. She walked towards him. "You're going to get yourself killed! You'll bring down the whole building!" Lance knew she was talking sense but he'd gone too far.

"I don't care! Nothing I do will ever be good enough for you!" Lance saw Colossus disappeared in through the doorway. "Why him?" He shouted over the rumble. She grabbed him by the arm.

"It doesn't matter, Lance! Come on, you have to get out of-" He shook her off.

"It matters, Kitty!" The rumbling got louder.

"Because I can trust him!" The rumbling stopped and the words echoed around. Lance dropped his arms and looked down on her and shook his head a little. Kitty thought she saw the smallest grin on his face. He started to walk away from her.

"Lance!" He didn't turn back. "Lance!"

"Have a nice life, Kitty!" Kitty stared in disbelief but was woken from her shock when she heard a few small creaks in the basement. The building was going to collapse and she had to get her friends out safely. She turned to follow after Piotr.

Plaster and cement dust started to fall from the ceiling. Kitty ran in and spotted a machine in the centre of the large workspace, it was a large silvery cube that reflected light in rainbows like compact disc would due to thin lines and microscopic wires etched in every surface. It was about twelve feet in every dimension with a hollow centre that could be accessed from two sides. Inside there was a console and a head set similar to Cerebro. It looked familiar to her. On the outside closest to her, Forge was applying his finishing touches to the machine and ran to him.

"Forge!" She ran over and grabbed his arm pulling heavily on it. "Come on, we have to get out of here – the building is going to collapse!" But he didn't move. "Forge!" She screamed, pulling his arm hard again and then realising the zombie look on his face.

Mystique turned back into her own form on top of Logan and pulled back a fist to punch him. The high pitched drilling sound in the background from Forge had ceased. Mystique hesitated to look up and saw that Forge had stopped working and that he was being pulled away from the machine by Shadowcat.

"No!" Mystique screamed. Logan took the opportunity to knock her back off him with force into the wall in front of him. Logan got up and ran towards the machine with his claws out; whatever it was something told him the world would be better off without it.

He swung hard and his claws nearly touched metal when a large metal hand grabbed his wrist halting it.

oOo

"I'm sorry." He said unexpectedly. Rogue turned around to Magneto. Rogue tried to ignore the people screaming in her head; she turned her back on him. If he was trying to get her on his side but it wasn't going to happen.

"Just go." She sighed fighting off a headache. But Magneto remained. Rogue was not under any false illusions that he remained to help. She felt a wave of magnetic energy. She didn't have to be a telepath to know what he was thinking. "She'll be waiting for you there." Rogue turned around to face him again. "Just leave it be." Magneto frowned.

"I don't know what you mean, child." Magneto expressed it like a threat. Rogue hated it when anyone referred to her age. Collectively, she had lived over forty lives from all the people she has touched and absorbed, him included. Besides, he knew damn well what she meant; his obsession with Forge's technology.

"Ah won't let you go back there." She shrugged into her threat like it was a passing comment and turned her back on him. Magneto got an inquisitive grin and put on a fake ease.

"I've been looking for an opportunity to ask you about your new abilities, Rogue." She ignored him. "It seems you've mastered each power as well as their original master, if not better." When she didn't react, he placed his hand on her shoulder and she spun to punch him but he caught her fist. "I'm disappointed, Rogue; all those gifts and all you try to do is punch me." He tutted. "Frankly, I was expecting more." Rogue smirked mischievously.

"How many more?" Magneto didn't understand until he was kicked hard in the back of the knees from behind. He let go of her fist and fell to his knees and turned to look at who was behind him and saw at least twenty Rogues standing around him. Magneto was about to antagonise her more when the Professor spoke and all of the Rogues melted into one again.

"Rogue..." He whispered. Rogue strained to hear him. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Rogue, something's wrong..." Rogue channelled the Professor's power in an attempt to understand what he meant. It didn't take her long to realise what he was talking about.

Rogue reached out fast to grab the Professor's shoulder; equally as fast Magneto grabbed her leg before they all disappeared in a cloud of brimstone.

Bamf!

oOo

"I'm sorry, Tovarish." Logan looked up at the Russian. He didn't even have enough time to say anything in response before Colossus punched Logan powerfully hard in the chest sending him flying backwards, hitting the wall behind him hard.

"Piotr! What are you doing?" She screamed at him and then looked between Forge and Piotr in disbelief. "_You_ kidnapped Forge from the Institute?" Her voice almost broke on her discovery. Piotr walked over to her and took her arm off of Forge's without hurting her so Forge could finish his work. Kitty tried to grab Forge again but Colossus stood in her way.

"You don't understand, Katya." He said to her quietly but her face turned hard.

"It's Kitty!" She jumped and phased through him to get to Forge and the machine. Whatever it was, if she phased through it she'd take out its electronics.

"Stop her!" Mystique yelled. Colossus would not move a muscle, however Mystique was shouting at Wyndegard.

As she flew through the air, Kitty realised she was no longer in control of her powers; she suddenly felt all too corporeal for her own good. She just missed Forge and landed heavily into the side of the machine, knocking herself out cold.

"No!" Piotr shouted. Forge stepped over her and resumed finishing the machine; Torque moved in his trance in to the machine to push a few buttons on the console and the machine started to power to life.

oOo

The Sentinels aimed their arms at the front of the mansion but instead of the palm of the hands lighting up, built in guns in their forearms popped out pre-loaded with darts. Rahne had an ominous feeling that they weren't tranquillisers and she shoved Jamie behind her protectively. There was a bright red blast from the sky that incinerated both Sentinels. The roar of the jet followed and Rahne looked up to see Scott hanging out the side of the hovering X-jet, his visor a burning shade of red.

Suddenly, there was another blast from higher up forcing it to the ground in a straight downward drop. Glows could be seen like a hundred fireflies surrounding the mansion high in the sky.

oOo

Alex felt the jet drop leaving his stomach about ten feet up above him as they went down. Scott jumped in from the doorway to grab onto something as they made a crater below them from the downward facing engines trying to stabilise the jet, sending hot mud and dirt outwards three hundred and sixty degrees, but the jet hit the ground hard.

They didn't have long to get over the impact before they had to get moving. Alex grabbed the straps that were securing him in but they melted in his hands. Scott, who was about to get him up looked at his hands and saw that they were burning red. Alex was realising it too.

"Get out of here!" Alex shouted at him.

oOo

Colossus picked up Kitty tenderly and kept her safe in his arms while Logan pushed himself out of the crumbling wall that Piotr had knocked him in to a few moments earlier. He growled deeply at the tin man, but Logan didn't have time to give him a piece of his mind as he could hear the stress in the beams above them.

"Get her out of here!" He ordered the man leaving no room for discussion. Piotr nodded and Mystique didn't object; she was done with him, and besides, her shiny new machine was showing signs of life at long last.

Logan made another run for the machine, claws out, but Mystique meant business and didn't waste any time intercepting him. She ran and spun, morphing one of her arms into a large spike; she stabbed him upwards from his stomach through his chest severing his shoulder muscles. His eyes widened as he stared at the machine, arms limp, while she whispered into his ear.

"Marvellous, isn't it?" She asked him, referring to her machine. "It's made of the same stuff you are; it's hard to get Adamantium these days."

"Could... use a little... paint..." He spluttered out the loudest he could manage with a spike sticking through him. She smiled. She heard it getting louder and louder as it was drawing in power. She inhaled the feeling of power, suddenly feeling very calm.

"You have absolutely no idea what it does, do you?" She whispered and made the spike bigger inside him causing him to collapse in on himself.

The metal door previously kicked in by Logan flew up from the ground and hit Mystique on her side knocking her away from Logan, pulling the spike out as she went. Logan swallowed the scream and collapsed completely to the ground. Mystique turned to see what was going on and saw Magneto, Xavier and Rogue.

oOo

Rahne and Jamie were standing at the front of the mansion, looking on in horror as the jet hit the ground.

Bamf!

Nightcrawler appeared beside them in a cloud of smoke with Bobby, Sam and Roberto holding onto Kurt and Kurt was holding on to Scott. Scott pushed Nightcrawler off him and started running back towards the jet when Roberto tried to stop him.

"Let go of me! I have to get to him!" Scott yelled at him.

"He's about to lose it!" Roberto yelled right back at him. They looked up and saw the lights from all the Sentinels that had appeared above the mansion and watched one approach the jet as a target.

"He's a sitting duck out there!" Scott turned to Nightcrawler; who looked at Scott helplessly both knowing that Alex was burning up, literally; no one could get near him. Suddenly, a blast of red light erupted from the roof of the X-jet catching and burning half of the Sentinel that had gotten too close, causing more Sentinels to pull in closer. They all took.

Alex was about to draw fire when suddenly a cocoon of fire enveloped Alex.

oOo

Rogue ran to Logan and Mystique scrambled towards her machine but Magneto stopped her by wrapping the door around her. Xavier tried to release Forge and Torque from their trance but Mastermind sent waves of attacks in the Professor's direction.

Rogue turned Logan over on to his back to see if he was healing; she determined that he was breathing, that was something at least.

The building was straining and plaster started to come down from the ceiling in places, one piece hitting Xavier on the head giving him a concussion, which gave Mastermind the advantage. Before he could do anything with that advantage, Rogue ran over to punch Mastermind squarely in the jaw with a gloved fist.

The ceiling started to dip, Rogue and Magneto shared a look just as a beam shook loose and was about to come down. Magneto released his hold on Mystique focussed his powers on stopping it, and the others, keeping the building up.

oOo

The fire spread outwards and jumped from the jet to all of the Sentinels surrounding the mansion, but it wasn't Alex's doing. Scott had seen Alex's powers, like his own they were based on line of sight but these flames were leaping from one Sentinel to the next as if possessed, burning each one through.

As each machine dropped to the ground, Scott estimated that approximately fifty Sentinels had been destroyed in one almighty display of power. The fire cocoon disappeared and the rest of the flames collected to a single point in the sky above the X-jet.

A figure emerged from the ball of fire; it was Jean.

oOo

Mastermind tried to get away when Rogue grabbed him by the lapels and pushed him up against the wall nearest to the machine. Mystique freed herself from the metal door as Rogue peeled off a glove.

"You're gonna tell me everything!" Rogue told him as she placed her hand on his face.

"No!" Mystique grabbed her elbow as she absorbed part of Wyndegard and yanked her away from him.

Rogue pulled her arm away from Mystique and backed away from her quickly like her touch burned. Rogue fell hard, back against the machine taking in all of the information as Wyndegard got his breath back after the brief contact. With one hand clutching her head, she pushed herself away from the machine with the other. Her skin touched the metallic surface of the vessel but would not break contact once made.

Rogue started to panic as she realised not only was she stuck but that the machine was starting to pull at her energy.

oOo

Cyclops ran forward from the mansion, elated with disbelief. Storm floated down to the ground and everyone that could see Jean stared in disbelief.

"Jean!" Scott called out to her but she didn't move, she just floated there as if she was meditating with her eyes closed, like she was still sleeping. "Jean?"

oOo

The entire room lit up with energy, all the little circuits at the front of the cube lit up outwards and radially from Rogue's hand.

"No!" Mystique shouted as she watched her daughter seeing what was happening to her. This was never part of the plan. Mystique grabbed Rogue's arm and pulled hard to free her but it would not work.

Wyndegard scrambled into the machine bringing Forge and Torque with him and placed the Cerebral interface over his head.

"Get out of there; what do you think you're doing!" Mystique shouted at him. Rogue's eyes grew red as a final burst of energy taken from her was released into the machine. Magneto could only watch out of the corner of his eye and Xavier could not do anything to stop what was about to happen.

"Time waits for no one!" Wyndegard shouted over the noise of the machine to her as the final power backlash threw both Rogue and Mystique away from the machine as it turned into an intensely bright and blinding blue light before disappearing completely.

oOo

"Jean, talk to me!" Scott called up to her.

Amara stared up at Jean and started to feel like something wasn't right about this as the fire around Jean started to grow brighter and brighter.

"Scott?" Amara called Cyclops back from her just as Jean's head turned to look down.

"Jean?" Jean's eyes opened to look directly at him with blackness.

Flames shot out of her hands directly at Scott. Scott braced himself for death but felt no pain as a black silhouette with burning red hands stepped in front of him, blocking him from the flames...

**End of Chapter 56**

**A.N. Well now, bumper edition this one was to mark the three year anniversary of publishing the first chapter! Sorry for the delay on this one guys! Please leave a review to say hi and catch up – I want to see if anyone knows what Mystique's machine is? **

**~Rí**


	57. Chapter 57

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 57**

_"Time waits for no one!" Wyndegard shouted over the noise of the machine to her as the final power backlash threw both Rogue and Mystique away from the machine as it turned into an intensely bright and blinding blue light before disappearing completely._

_A few moments earlier..._

He got out just in time, reaching the street level with the unconscious girl still in his arms. He maintained his metallic form as falling debris still crumbling hit his back. He ran out on to the streets and ran away from the building following everyone else's direction. Everyone within view was running away, Piotr only hoped that the tremors Lance had started with had alerted anyone in the building or nearby to evacuate the area in time. A loud sound came from the building, to which Colossus turned. He watched as the height of the building dropped a few levels, then it paused; Piotr nearly dropped Kitty when he felt the magnetic energy spring forward from the building.

Piotr turned to keep going, to get Kitty as far away from there as possible. He looked at her and reconsidered; maybe it was time to stop running.

oOo

He felt his shoulder muscles stretching to repair themselves but as painful as it was it meant that he was still alive and still breathing. He picked up on their scents before he opened his eyes but the plaster dust in the air was thick and aggravated his senses.

"You're gonna to tell me everything!" He heard her and he opened his eyes but was quickly forced to shut them again in pain from an uncontrolled, short burst of psychic energy from Rogue, Wyndegard, Xavier or all of the above, he wasn't sure.

He didn't have much time to recover before a loud hum filled the room, the sound growing in intensity reaching a deafening point at the same time that Mystique screamed. Logan could finally move his arms and pushed himself up off the ground and twisted quickly towards the noise; his eyes widened as he witnessed Rogue being drained by... the machine?

oOo

"You're gonna tell me everything!" Information unwittingly flowed into Rogue upon contact of her hand on Mastermind's skin. The knowledge, the implications were-

Mystique pulled Rogue off him breaking the connection. Rogue never liked it when anyone grabbed her but seeing Mystique, the betrayal, the memories of being used by her for her powers over and over again and now seeing her use Torque and Forge for their abilities really amplified her reaction. Rogue pulled back from Mystique suddenly, intending to scream at her and to stop her in every way she could think of but she fell back against the machine hard. She put her uncovered hand out to push away from it and touched the machine but felt it's pull; something inside her broke loose and unleash her power, their powers, into the machine...

oOo

Her face was contorted between shock, pain and fear; ever so briefly he met her glowing eyes before the final burst of intensely bright blue light threw Rogue and Mystique away.

Logan jumped up to catch Rogue on reflex as the pulse of energy that followed immediately knocked him back with Rogue, the force of the pulse bowled over Xavier and Magneto with it before the machine disappeared altogether. Magneto lost his hold on the magnetic field weakly keeping the building from collapsing on them.

Logan threw himself over Rogue as the ceiling dropped down on them, Logan's eyes instinctively shut for the impact...

oOo

"C'mon, c'mon!" Jubilee ushered the liquid to distill faster as she stared at it; the sooner it was finished, the sooner they could start testing the final product. They were so close. The Beast was lining up a few more runs using slightly different reactions to achieve their results; he shared Jubilee's enthusiasm for efficiency but they had to make sure they got what they needed first. Zara was testing samples she had taken to see if they have gotten what they were hoping to get at each step; she didn't have her doctorate yet but Hank was convinced after this impressive effort, she wouldn't be far away from it, and a Nobel prize.

oOo

Nothing happened. Logan opened his eyes when he realised that the ceiling hadn't caved in on them. The first thing he saw was Rogue's right arm reaching over his left shoulder, next to his face; her right hand fingers were splayed out. He looked up above him and saw the debris of the building forming a shallow dome over their heads. Initially he thought she had accessed Magneto's powers because of the sensation in his Adamantium lined bones, but the more he looked he realised it was more than just metal that she was keeping up. Amidst the distractions, she had managed to access Jean Grey's powers of telekinesis and it was the only thing preventing them from being crushed under many stories.

He saw Magneto next to them and realised it must have been him that he had sensed but then he looked down at Rogue, she was squeezing her eyes shut tight, hot tears of pain escaping them created cold trails in the cement dust on her temples. Her left hand was bunched up tightly in his shirt like a vice grip.

"Rogue?!" He looked her over for injuries on reflex but found none. She was concentrating on keeping the building up but he'd never seen her breaking a sweat using just Jean's powers before, then it sunk in that her glove was gone.

She convulsed involuntarily-

_The ceiling dropped on them and they were crushed..._

Logan felt the wind knocked out of him, but blinked and saw that the ceiling was still up and they were okay, but Rogue wasn't as she convulsed again-

_Everything was a blurry green as the needles advanced on him; his bones burned as the molten Adamantium bonded, then he heard Laura and Rogue scream as the needles advanced on them too in identical chambers to his..._

Logan gasped urgently like he had just been on the verge of drowning. Mastermind's powers were breaking through Rogue's control and were still highly active; Logan put the pieces together and figured that must have been struggling due to what the machine tried to do with her and that she must have absorbed Mastermind and he wasn't going to sit around quietly in her head while he was so fresh. But Rogue couldn't afford having him loose in her head while she was trying to use Jean's powers.

"Rogue, look at me!" It wasn't a request, it was an order. She shook her head like she was apologising, her fist tightening in his shirt. He pulled her up to a sitting position and shook her gently. "Rogue?" He asked again. Her eyes flickered open. Logan saw the glow a blood red colour, followed by a yellow glow, followed by flames, but they kept alternating; it was as if Magneto, Jean and Mastermind were fighting within her.

She closed her eyes tight and the ceiling dropped a little more. Logan looked around and saw Magneto using his powers to gather metal to protect himself, Xavier and somewhat reluctantly, Mystique, but it didn't fall all the way as Rogue regained some control.

Logan saw Mystique getting up from under Magneto's construct and running towards the platform where her machine stood briefly, looking for some part of it that she could take with her.

"Mystique!" Xavier shouted at her, imploring her to come back.

"I won't let it be destroyed!" She shouted desperately.

"Then you can be buried with it!" Rogue uttered darkly next to Logan. Logan and Xavier looked at her. But she shook her head, like she was trying to shake off a momentary possession but something else in the world caught her attention.

"Rogue...?" Logan asked, wondering if it was really her he was talking to. Rogue's body tensed and her eyes widened, there were flames glowing in them. She gasped.

"Oh, God..." She whispered, suddenly flames encased all of them completely but they did not get burned.

Next thing Logan heard was the sound of a building collapsing in the not-too-distant vicinity and people screaming all around them. The flames surrounding them receded and Logan realised that they had all been instantaneously moved outside on to the street, safely out of the building by Rogue's sudden display of power.

Magneto, Xavier and even Mystique, who had been preoccupied with thoughts of her machine only a moment ago, stared mutely at Rogue; he looked at her next to him.

She was panting, panicked and utterly shocked. She dropped her arm that was telekinetically holding the building up and scrambled away from Logan and them all. She stood up clutching her head like all of their thoughts were hurting her, backing up against a parked car on the street as the dust cloud from the collapsed building approached them.

"Stop thinking!" She shouted at them, looking all of them in the eye in turn. Her head was full of their theories, their concern, their fear; she was afraid of herself too.

They tried and she started to block out the noise they were creating. She was still panting when her eyes were running left to right very quickly, like she was speed reading. She was seeing something else happening.

"Rogue, what is it?" Xavier implored her; he could feel that something was wrong too but the blow to his head earlier made it highly dangerous for him to attempt using his powers.

"It's Jean!" Rogue panted, pushing off from the car to Xavier, she closed her eyes to concentrate but she was unstable on her feet; Logan caught her around the waist when she stumbled. "She's destroying... Sentinels attaching the mansion, she destroyed them all..."

"It's okay, Rogue; we can prevent it togeth-" Xavier attempted to placate her but he misunderstood. Rogue's grip in her hair tightened to a painful level as she screamed.

"No!" Logan's hold tightened as Xavier felt a deep dread building within him. "It happened, happening now, she...oh, God; Alex! Argh!" Rogue let out a short high pitched scream from a burst of pain and would have fallen to her knees had it not been for Logan's support; she reached out a hand as she doubled over and grabbed Xavier's shoulder.

Bamf!

They disappeared in a cloud of brimstone as the dust cloud settled over Magneto and Mystique in New York.

oOo

"_Jean?!" Jean's eyes opened to look directly at him with blackness. _

_Flames shot out of her hands directly at Scott. Scott braced himself for death but felt no pain as a black silhouette with burning red hands stepped in front of him, blocking him from the flames..._

_A few moments earlier..._

He put his palm down to help him get up and felt a sharp pain, he looked down and saw a piece of glass still there, pressed in a little deeper. He used his other hand to pinch it out and watched it bleed a little...

_His mother picked up his hand, cleaning the small cut on the heel of his palm from falling off his Scott's skateboard. He was so small. She put a bandage on it quickly and with precision, as somehow all mothers know how to do, and kissed it better..._

His chest felt heavy as he inhaled the thick and acrid smoke around him. He coughed hard...

_He coughed so violently and against his gag reflex when they pulled out the tube that was helping him breathe after the accident. Panic set in when he couldn't see a familiar face in the room. He couldn't see his mother, his father or Scott..._

He caught his breath and felt like he was using up Oxygen as fast as a raging fire. He pulled himself up from the former plane around him; his hands were hot and started to melt everything they came in contact with, he felt like he was trying to climb through a gel, the steel was melting so fast...

_The waves came and went, dissolving back into the ocean around him. He needed to be out further but he couldn't swim past the waves. He felt a sudden pang of loss, wondering what it would have been like if his Dad or Scott had taught him how to swim. Thinking of Scott, he figured out what to do, think outside the box kiddo; don't swim on the waves, swim under them. He swam hard into the next wave, then quickly leaned up on his board to push the front down with his elbows locked pushing the board and him under. He felt the wave wash over him; it was cleansing but he had to breathe now..._

His lungs burned with their need for air but with every breath he took he felt his whole body smouldering from the core of his bones outward. He looked at his hands and saw the bandages slowly melting off his skin...

_Alex tried to save both of them by trusting Magneto and his, what would turn out to be, empty promises. Alex felt the need to show his big brother that he was grown up. He didn't want to resume their relationship as the baby brother; he figured he had been an only child since their parents had died. He was glad about having his brother back, but he wanted to be seen as an equal, not a kid. But it turned out that he was wrong, he was a kid and he had a lot to learn yet; the one thing he did figure out was that no matter what, he wasn't alone..._

He wasn't alone, and that was the problem now, there were too many people near him that he was going to hurt.

He was suffering blinding pain, but it was no longer the poison that was hurting him, it was his own powers building up inside of him. He knew what was happening to him, the poison was causing him to lose control. He felt like he had reached the point of no return, the poison had set off and unstoppable runaway reaction.

Alex felt like he had always been on the outside looking in, but now he was at the heart of the action.

His whole life was all leading to this point, his moment in the supernova...

_He was at the airport ready to head to New York to join the Xavier Institute. His adoptive parents didn't want him to go but they knew he wanted to. They came with him to the airport, she was so nervous for him; after all, the Institute hadn't exactly been a stranger to the news lately. _

_He tried to say goodbye but he found it hard to look her in the eye. Could he really say that he'd be fine when he felt like he was leaving her to go to war? She tried to hide her emotions but her voice broke as she murmured her goodbye. _

"_Just," She searched for something to say, "Just be smart and be brave." She hugged him so tight; he didn't want to be the one that ended it. She rubbed him on the arm in a comforting gesture as she let him go, and he nodded. In one way, he knew it was time to be brave... _

But he had never been more terrified in his life.

Alex made his way to what was left of the plane door, looking out quickly he saw the bright lights of Sentinels, how many he didn't know but he could see that the X-men were outnumbered and his hands became white hot.

He saw one Sentinel approach the jet and ducked back in when it got to over head, he fell back onto his back. He looked up at the roof and felt a surge of power that transcended any feeling he had ever felt. He pointed his hands at the roof of the jet and let his control go.

The sound was deafening, the heat and power ripped through the roof like it was made of paper. He felt like the beam wasn't just power he was emitting, it felt like an extension of himself. He could feel it hit the Sentinel before he saw it.

He let the beam die and knew the others would be on top of him soon; he tried to hold in what was left of his energy and waited for them to come close enough.

Suddenly, fire enveloped the jet and the Sentinels incinerating them but leaving him unharmed.

What was left of the Sentinels dropped from the sky thunderously as the fire died down, revealing Jean floating above the jet.

He saw Scott running forward, but Jean was stoic. He heard Scott call out for her but she didn't move. Alex knew something was wrong he noted the flames growing around Jean. Alex saw Jean open her eyes and look at Scott, no... through Scott with eyes as black as the death. Alex knew, Scott wasn't going to realise in time...

Alex launched himself between Scott and Jean as flames shot out from Jean's hand directly at Scott.

Everything slowed down for Alex. His heart was in overdrive and it was the biggest rush of his life.

It was amazing how the poison worked, it was like his mutation was advancing so fast it was uncontrollable. His life force was going to burn out in minutes and he knew it, like the star that burned the brightest.

There was no cure for this poisoning, he knew it, but he also knew that he had a bomb worth of energy left in him ready to release and he was going to put it to good use.

Alex was no fool, he wasn't naive enough to think that he would be able to stop Jean or take her out but he knew he was a dead man walking. But it was going to be this way, he would draw her fire.

And then in the last few moments, time sped up. His blasts of energy battered into the flames.

And then, the clocks stopped...

oOo

His eyes burned with the red beams and fire a blaze in front of him.

Temporarily paralysed by the shock, he realised in horror that his little brother had stepped in front him to save him.

The scene was like the birth of the Sun. Red light blasted forth from Alex, directed completely at the Pheonix. Jean let her attack on Scott turn effortlessly and remorselessly on Alex. Flames generated around her like spontaneous fusion and shot out to engulf Alex completely.

The red died and the orange flames took over, consuming his brother.

As fast as it started, it ended. The flames receded. Alex fell to his knees, then completely like a lifeless doll. Jean was gone before Alex had hit the ground.

"No..." Scott uttered and ran to his side. Scott knelt down next to him to turn him on to his back fully. He was blackened from head to toe, like the victim of a house fire. He leant down to listen for sounds of breath. "No!" Scott cried, "Breathe, Alex!" He screamed the order as he started chest compressions. "Someone help me..." He begged then looked up at to the front of the mansion, "Somebody HELP!"

Time waits for no one.

**End of Chapter 57**


	58. Chapter 58

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 58**

He knew how he had gotten here. He couldn't save his family. It was his fault...

_He had no choice but to do as the man had asked, if he ever wanted to see his family again. So he became an Acolyte. He never wanted to fight, he was strong and tough but he had always used that to be helpful, not destructive. He never truly felt anger until he had met Magneto, until his family were kidnapped and taken from him..._

_He saw her when they fought, but he only really met her when they joined forces and worked together. He saw then what a team could be. How they looked out for each other, and he saw how obsessed Magneto had become. He approached him the last time, shortly before Apocalypse had killed him to ask where his family were. But the monster would not tell him. When the monster died, Colossus felt the price freedom snake around his throat with the associated loss of his family. Now, no one would be able to tell him where they were..._

_He spent months searching but to no avail. Then he was approached by her. The deal was simple, she knew where Magneto was keeping his family; all he had to do was to join the Institute and await further instruction. It was when he was just starting to enjoy his time there, when he was one of the team, when he had befriended Forge and Katya, that was when things started to fall apart._

"_We may need to move our plan forward sooner than I thought." Was all she said to him at first; but he didn't want to work for her anymore. _

"_Не хочу обидеть этих людей. Они мои друзья." Mystique did not like his response. _

"_I don't care if you're having a nice time there; it is not a vacation spot. We had a deal! I hope you haven't forgotten our little arrangement?" Colussus replied crossly in Russian before agreeing; he had no choice, his family's lives were at stake. _

"_Да, я буду делать, что вы просите..." He sighed_

"_Good. Keep your cell on you." The phone went dead in his hands..._

_It wasn't long before Mystique contacted him again, and this time he was forced to act. _

_"I want you to send me Forge." Piotr listened to her demands but after a number of objections, he realised he had deepened his commitment. "We need him and we need to capitalise on this; if Xavier and my daughter are absent from your charming new home then now is the time to act!"_

_It was easy to find Forge, he was in Cerebro, he was either going to find him there or in the Danger Room, but he found him there. He was under the consol gathering wires. He carefully approached him and heard him sigh in frustration. _

_"Oh, excellent timing!" Forge called to him. "Could you pass me in one last cable tie from the bag, please?" Forge asked him. But Piotr slowly withdrew a needle sadly. Phenobarbital, a trick he had recently learned from Boom Boom. Piotr jabbed Forge with the dose and saw his legs loose all tension. He pulled Forge out from the consol and discretely snuck him out of the Institute to the front gates where someone was waiting. _

_He handed Forge over to Mastermind and remembered the last instruction of Mystique's, none of the telepaths can find out._

_Piotr returned quietly and tried not to meet anyone, he didn't want to lie. He had managed to avoid people for a few hours, but sadly, the next person he met was..._

_"Katya?" Kitty spun around, Colossus put out a hand to steady her as she exclaimed his name aloud. "My apologies if I frightened you." Piotr looked around Kitty to Forge's door. He took his hand away knowing that he had betrayed her trust. "You were looking for Forge." _

_"No! I mean, yeah... Am, I was looking for Forge but I wasn't, like, looking for Forge." He didn't understand until she blushed. "Am, he's not in the mansion and I was just checking if there was any sign of him here; of, like, where he might've gone, you know?" Kitty explained._

_"And you did not find anything?" Piotr enquired already knowing the answer._

_"No; well, I haven't looked; the door's locked." He waited for it to click. "Oh, right! Like, duh!" She took his wrist and pulled them both through the locked door by phasing. His room was in disarray._

_"His room is like his mind, yes? It only makes sense to him." Piotr attempted to lighten the mood for Kitty. He looked down at her sadly. "You were expecting of him to leave, maybe, a note?" Piotr asked her quietly. Kitty nodded._

_"I know, like, totally crazy." She said to his chest. He felt so disappointed with himself. The two people he had befriended the most he had hurt the most. He didn't want to hurt Kitty, but as he was standing there next to her he wanted to be selfish and comfort her. He brushed the back of his fingers on one hand along her cheekbone, causing her look at him in response._

_"You are concerned. That is not crazy." He paused as he held her eyes with his own. "You have suspicions." Colossus stated finally, wondering if he thought she could see through him. He was lying to her, but he was lying to her with sincerity. He elaborated further. "You think that Forge has left or was made to leave?" Kitty nodded. _

_Piotr took a moment to think things through. He could tell her everything there and then, she might be hurt at first but he knew she would help him but then, if Mystique found out he feared for his family; he feared for Illyana; she was so young and small, and he wasn't there to protect his baby sister. He nodded deciding there would be time to explain after. "Then you will be needing help finding him." He informed her, the back of his fingers and thumb moving along her jaw line before his hand fell away from her face painfully..._

_When he was in New York and he saw Mystique; one look of anger from her said that she would harm his family if he double crossed her now. He had no choice, he reached out and halted Logan's claws from touching her machine and punched him back hard away from the thing. Then he heard her. _

_"Piotr! What are you doing?" She screamed at him as she made the connection. "You kidnapped Forge from the Institute?" Her voice almost broke on her discovery and it pained him. Piotr walked over to her and took her arm off of Forge's without hurting her so Forge could finish his work. Kitty tried to grab Forge again but Colossus stood in her way._

_"You don't understand, Katya." He said to her quietly but her face turned hard and almost unrecognisable._

_"It's Kitty!" She jumped and phased through him to get to Forge and the machine and he didn't stop her but Mastermind did. She just missed Forge and landed heavily into the side of the machine, knocking herself out cold as Mastermind deactivated her powers telepathically. _

_"No!" He shouted for her. Piotr picked her up carefully and without really needing further instruction from Logan he was going to take her away and keep her safe..._

He had left her in a safe place nearby and returned quickly to where the building had collapsed in a last desperate attempt to find out where his family was. At first he thought Mystique had vanished but he saw her and Magneto left behind as Logan, Rogue and Xavier disappeared. He wasted no time and caught Mystique by surprise. He threw her up against the wall and held her there by her throat, he was done playing games.

"I have done everything you have asked! Where are they?!" He shouted impatiently. Mystique looked at him like she didn't care anymore. She had no fight left, just anger. She laughed darkly and looked at Magneto.

"I never had your family. But I wonder if you can tell him what happened?" She looked to Magneto and Piotr's eyes followed in question. Magneto stared threateningly at Mystique to stay silent. Mystique offered the missing information instead, without any concern for herself. "You're parents are in Latvia, they have forgotten you." She let that sink in first. "He had Mastermind play with your head." She nodded as much as she could to Magneto and continued with a taunting grin. "You see, there was a tragedy, it's how Magneto found you-"

"That's enough, Mystique!" Colossus' heart rate increased tenfold. Whatever it was, it had to be true.

"There was a fire-" Magneto used his powers of magnetism to pull him off her but she didn't run away and she wouldn't stop her tale now that she had started it.

"I said that's enough!" Magneto used his powers to throw a car at her but she jumped and dodged it easily. Mystique was feeling vengeful and Piotr stared at her in horror.

"You're sister was murdered by mutant haters, and he-" she pointed to Magneto, "had Wyndegard wipe your memory so you would work for him!" Magneto started to float above them, about to runaway, Colossus' heart broke knowing from Magneto's reaction that it must have been true.

"No!" He shouted up at him as he disappeared. Mystique took some satisfaction in ruining someone else's life, bringing another person down to her level before she changed into an eagle and flew away leaving him alone.

Colossus stayed until he heard sirens. He dried his eyes roughly, he hadn't realised he had been crying. He went back to where he had left Kitty and picked her up easily and carefully. He looked at her and, his life had suddenly lost all direction now...

oOo

_A few days later..._

The Beast's cure worked. He opened his eyes and felt the pain and power diminish. For the first time in ages he started to feel like himself again, and despite the nausea and slight fever, it was amazing. He had come so close to losing complete control though he didn't want to admit it. The angry red marks on his skin were fading immediately, which was the sign that they had all been hoping for.

"This is promising." Hank said warmly, with a smile as best he could manage but it didn't carry all the way to his eyes, which were bloodshot and tired. "Would you mind staying with him?" He directed at Zara. She nodded, writing furiously anything she could observe of their first test patient; having something to do gave her purpose and she took to it.

Preliminary indications were good. The Beast nodded and turned to leave before Janette stopped him with an impromptu hug, although her arms could barely reach around both sides of the man given his physique.

"Thank you." She said quietly into the black fabric of the custom sized jacket he was wearing. Hank unfroze from the sudden hug and patted the girl's back with his giant furry hand; he deeply appreciated how much their hard work meant to them and all the others they were going to help if this proved successful but as much as he tried to hang on to that feeling, he couldn't help but feel pain take over. Regret and guilt were sadly just more powerful emotions.

Jan let him go and watched him leave the room, she felt bad for the man. He was going through a hard time. She sighed and went to sit by Ryan, smiling warmly at him, glad that he was going to be okay.

oOo

Her feet landed heavily on the woodland floor but she kept the pace regardless; another branch to jump over, under and then between trees.

She had been running for hours. Her already torn clothes were getting snagged and torn further on jagged sticks from trees and bushes that stuck out in her way. They scratched her cold damp skin as she ran past them but never felt the pain. She felt numb.

_Jean was gone when they got there and Scott was screaming. The clouds had darkened unnaturally and it was starting to rain. She saw others from the front of the mansion running to help Scott. Logan saw the scene and looked at her with a question written on his features. Rogue shook her head, they were too late. _

_Logan walked away from them towards Scott. Rogue looked at the Professor and saw tears in his eyes; Rogue turned away from him feeling the tears fall down her own cheeks and looked back at the scene. Logan had reached Scott and placed a hand on his shoulder telling him something he didn't want to hear._

"_No!" Scott shouted at him and resumed chest compressions, ignoring the Wolverine. Logan more forcefully pulled Scott back, this time Rogue could hear him. _

"_Stop." Logan's firm voice carried over the silent grounds. Scott wrenched his arms free from Logan to get back to Alex but Logan caught him again with a firmer grip. "There's nothing you can do for him. He's gone." Scott made another effort to free himself until Logan repeated himself. "He's gone." The sound Scott made was heartbreaking. Logan let him go. Scott fell back down next to his brother's body and pulled his head and shoulders into his lap, cradling him as the sound of loss echoed..._

Rogue shook her head, she had reached a familiar point and turned back and continued running. She would run until her limbs stopped allowing her. There was too much happening in her head to stop.

Logan stood near her well worn path keeping watch, her usual route back to the edge of the woods near the mansion, where he knew she would run to, turn and run back to the other side of the woods until she reached the perimeter wall again. He knew because she had been doing it every night for the last three nights, every night since New York; every night since Alex died.

_He stood a few feet away from Scott and Alex and waited there for hours. His extensive hearing abilities forced him to hear the new reporters that had hung around broadcast continuously what had happened, headlining with the murder of a mutant teenage boy in Bayville, New York; narrating footage of the mutant, Jean Grey, a student at the Xavier Institute, turning on her own. The reporters and news channels, from witness accounts in Rochester, had confirmed the link that Jean Grey was also the mutant responsible for the attack in Rochester. _

_They were linking everything together; the mutant attack on a steel girders factory belonging to Worthington Industries in Wisconsin, where it was confirmed that the factory had been illegally manufacturing weapons of mass destruction on a private contract. These 'Sentinels' were being manufactured in multiple locations and were allegedly programmed to attack mutants, however, live footage from the attack on the Xavier Institute had recorded the Sentinels turning on the media crew. _

_They recapped earlier events of the day, a mysterious mutant later confirmed to go by the alias, the Scarlett Witch unleashing an attack on the Institute, more specifically, an attack on the mutant called Magneto. Magneto, the mutant who had attacked Apocalypse at his dome in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico earlier that year and lost._

_They recounted other parallel mutant related stories, such as the death of Guy Spears in Washington DC and the mutant attacks on a Spears Sports factory in Los Angeles; by now they had announced that Webber Torque, famous games designer and CEO of Arcade Games was still missing after the collapse of a skyscraper in New York City; mutants were sighted in the vicinity, however, it had not been confirmed that the collapse was linked. _

_The press were aggravating Logan but at least they had the good sense to not cross the threshold onto private property. The police hadn't stopped by yet, Logan wasn't sure if they were going to either; probably had to wait for the head honchos in DC to figure what to do with all of this. But Logan knew that the world was about to change for the worse, everyone in power would realise after today that mutants were beyond policing, and Logan knew how that would make all those in power feel, desperate. But for the moment it seemed that they would let them grieve in peace. _

_After an eternity, Scott moved. He looked behind to Logan. _

"_We should get him inside." Scott hoarsely whispered. Logan nodded and Ray and Sam came forward to help them carry Alex's body inside... _

Logan was tired of watching her; he stepped in front of her on her path when she was running back to the perimeter.

"How long are you gonna keep this up, Stripes?" He announced his presence to her. Rogue stopped with a skid, she had been running so hard on her own strength she couldn't have concentrated on another power to sense his presence any other but the usual way, looking.

"Logan." Rogue greeted him coldly. She was breathing hard but she tried to step around him. Logan turned and blocked her way again easily. Rogue stopped and stared at the ground, she waited for him to move but he wouldn't.

_The political upheaval had made things unnecessarily hard on them. They couldn't repatriate his body home to Hawaii, too many problems. Instead, his adoptive parents were flown to New York; there was nothing more heart breaking. _

_Alex was buried on the grounds of the Xavier Institute. It was a first, and Logan could tell from Xavier's tormented face that he feared it would not be the last. The students were grieving, but Spyke had organised everyone to work together to remove the left over pieces of the Sentinels from the grounds and to decommission the LDX weapons from their remains safely. The grounds were clear of those abominations for the funeral. _

_Alex's parents supported each other in their bereaved state throughout the burial, Kurt stood by Scott for the duration. Normally Scott would have turned to Jean for support, or Xavier; but Xavier kept his distance. He was responsible for the students at his Institute, he promised parents safety and training but he should have realised that that was not a promise someone could keep in a world that hates and fears you simply because of your genes._

_There was little comfort could be offered to his parents; someone had managed to relay the story to them, what had happened in Wisconsin and how Alex had sacrificed himself to save Scott. His father had a glimmer of pride in his eyes with the tale but his mother took no solace. She was angry with Jean, with Xavier and with herself for letting her son join the Institute. _

_Logan had noticed something else though. Rogue didn't go to the funeral..._

"Let me pass, Logan; Ah need to keep goin'." She sounded defeated and somewhat impatient.

"Why?" Rogue shook her head and growled in frustration. Logan looked up to the sky and suddenly felt very old and honest. "You can't keep distracting yourself, staying numb. You have to feel it." Rogue growled and pushed him in anger but he barely moved.

"Ah've felt death a thousand times, Logan; Ah've got everyone's grief in here." She tapped her right temple indicating to the experiences of everyone she had absorbed in the past.

"Don't care about what all of those people have felt or are feeling!" She tried to push her way past him with her gloved hands but there was no strength behind the effort. He let her go initially but after some time Logan got in her way again, he was done watching her run herself into the ground. He caught her covered wrists.

"Let me go!" She said to him through gritted teeth. She tried to wrench her arms free using no extra strength than her own, it didn't work and it wasn't going to work. She growled, but it was all Rogue.

"You need to feel it yourself, experience it yourself!" He told her, he started to see the fight in her eyes again.

"It's all the same!" She shouted back, struggling in his hold.

"They're not you!" He told her sternly but she disagreed vehemently.

"They ARE me!" She yelled her truth.

Logan was thrown back from her by energy he couldn't identify. She stared at him shock, sorrow and acceptance. She something she had avoided for the last three days...

_She was out there for an age, longer than Scott and Logan, longer than most of the press. She sat in the cold wet grass hidden in the darkness and replayed it all in her mind over and over again._

_Since seeing the machine in New York, she started to question everything, but there was too much going on in her mind to see it all clearly, still too many powers she had yet to learn how to control. She tried to quieten everyone in her mind and focussed only on her new addition, Wyndegard. _

_She saw how he was controlling them, Torque and Forge, to build the machine for him. He let Mystique believe that they were building it for her, but he had planned to pull the rug out from under her feet from the beginning. The machine had combined various accomplishments of Forge and Arcade; Arcade's game design was based on the inner workings of the Danger Room at the Xavier Institute but the really impressive part was how Cerebro imprints the powers of any mutants she reads to adapt and build in defences to protect the Institute and to train the X-men. All of this he believed was a game until the first Sentinel attack out-ed the X-men for what they were, mutants. _

_While working with Forge at MIT, Torque had learned of past experiments that Forge had conducted during his time at the Xavier Institute, one of which being the experiments on teleportation. Forge had omitted the details, but he had described ways to use technology to enhance mutant abilities, the most fascinating being the ability to move through space and other dimensions instantaneously. Forge would get so animated on the subject. Torque had been planning since then to figure out how to use this power enhancing technology and even better, to see if it could be used to enhance simulated power._

_At the time, however, not even Torque knew of Forge's genius and other projects he was working on. Torque was independently obsessed without the need for encouragement, but that was when Mystique stepped in. She wanted his fortune and resources at first but it became more when she started to follow Torque's obsession. She brought Mastermind in to get the information she needed but knew she was going to need Torque until the end. Mastermind became as hungry for the potential power as Mystique, but he acted ignorant in front of her so that he could steal it for himself at the opportune moment. _

_It was Mystique, or Ms. Dion who arranged the deal between Gambit and Torque. Torque wanted the designs for Forge's teleportation experiment and needed a skilled thief to get them from Forge's undoubtedly booby trapped home. Everything went well, Torque had the designs and Gambit was paid handsomely, it wasn't until an additional trinket and designs were presented to him that Torque's ambition, and Mastermind's and Mystique's started to grow beyond anything they were expecting. It made sense that Forge would have been designing something like this, a man out of his own time and a genius inventor. If combined together with the potential for instantaneous travel it would be the most powerful tool in the world..._

"_Rogue?" A single voice had interrupted he thoughts. She blinked into the rain and could only see a vague silhouette in the darkness and glowing red on black eyes. "Come on inside, Cherie." A hand was offered to her but she couldn't take it. _

"_Why did you do it?" Rogue asked, plain and simple. She already knew the answer, she just needed him to know. But he was confused; to him the question was without context. _

"_Do what?" He replied._

"_Stealin' from Forge for Webber Torque?" He retracted his hand and passed it through his wet hair. Wyndegard was at the forefront of her mind, she naturally picked up on a few things from him without trying. He sighed heavily and looked down at her. _

"_It was my way out." She got the faintest flashes of memories from him, as well as flashes of his fears and hopes. She nodded, she understood, but the consequences were too extreme to forgive him or herself so easily. _

"_Torque and Forge were bein' used by Mystique and Mastermind." Rogue didn't look at him. "They built a machine." Gambit didn't say a word. "You gave her everything..." He barely heard Rogue's admonishment as she shook her head. "That trinket that sweetened the deal," She got him to remember, "Just like the one we found in Forge's room," She looked up at him, "It was something Forge had designed to help him go home." It sunk in with Gambit what she was saying, that trinket he sold to Torque was some component Forge was working on for-_

"_Time travel." Gambit finished out loud. _

_Gambit looked out to where Jean was and where Alex stood as his mind flashed back to Rochester when Jean was probing his mind. _

"_T**hey don't know. Even you don't realise what you've done... yet... But you'll find out soon enough, and so will they... ****So will she..."** _

_Gambit turned his attention back to Rogue, his voice full of what she could only call regret. "That machine...?" He looked at her in question and she nodded. _

"_The Eye of Ages." Rogue confirmed defeated. "Forge built it..."_

**End of Chapter 58**

**A.N. Long time no see, review - say hi! If you've just read this from the start, fair play cause it's turned into a really long story! Let me know what you think! ~Rí  
**


	59. Chapter 59

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 59**

She didn't want it, but she felt like she needed to make her hands busy. She couldn't just stand there while they had more talk of these sad things. She straightened the jacket of the black skirt suit she was wearing and fixed three drinks, for herself, Hank and Charles, and brought them over to the fire. She wondered where Logan had gone but she got distracted by the conversation rather quickly.

"What do you think Washington will do?" Hank asked the Professor as he took the glass from Ororo with a nod and loosened the black tie he was wearing.

"I'm not sure, Hank; the President pardoned us after the first Sentinel attack, however, he has approved the Mutant Registration Act." Xavier responded. Ororo felt a tightness in her chest as she handed him the drink. He took the offered drink and as she let go of the glass, Xavier placed his free hand on hers in a comforting manner, sensing her unease. "Thank you, Ororo." He said politely and genuinely. She smiled a tiny smile of appreciation and squeezed his hand before letting go.

"But that doesn't make the Sentinel attack on us legal, or the use of that poison." Hank was implying the lethal force displayed at the Institute three days ago. He was aware, however, that their own attacks on the Spears Sport factory and Worthington's factory where they were making the Sentinels were not, strictly speaking, legal either, despite their best intentions.

"They might claim that it was Trask again working with Worthington... and Spears, evidently." Ororo figured, knowing that Trask was the creator of the first Sentinel and that the factory belonged to Worthington. From the darts they found in the Sentinel arms when they decommissioned the remains, they knew that they had come from Spears, matching the poison in the darts to the poison in the pen used on Rahne in California and in human testing in DC. "Independent hate crimes against mutants with no government affiliations?" Storm offered cynically, fearing the worst based on past experienced of avoiding witch hunts.

"Do we know that?" Hank asked, worriedly, and then thought about it. "I supposed it would be better than if it was sanctioned." Ororo shook her head sadly thinking over the last six months.

"But after this; Apocalypse, Jean-" Ororo started but Xavier interrupted.

"The Phoenix." Xavier corrected her, Ororo realised how he was unwilling to associated Jean with Alex's death in that way, calling her the Phoenix helped him dehumanise that half of Jean.

"Even we were threats, Charles;" She continued, referring to when they were horsemen; Xavier, Mystique, Magneto and herself, "Apocalypse used and controlled almost all of us as some point."

"Yes, but..." Hank started rubbing his temple. He saw her point, that there was a need to police mutants, but he also had to point out that there is no strike team, besides the X-men, that even had a hope of controlling situations like that. He sighed. "After those incidents, how could even think they could try to police mutants?"

They stayed quiet for a while, each thinking of their worst fears.

"More Sentinels?" Hank tried answering his own question with another, thinking of the streets being patrolled by these monsters; but then the controversy and consequence of mistakes associated with the machines that they have already witnessed, Hank doubted that the government would swing back to that idea so soon.

"Arm the police, and maybe even the army, with LDX weapons?" Xavier thought too, like a nuclear deterrent. That would turn the police into judge, jury and executioner; and police are licensed to carry guns. But then again, it's possible to shoot someone and only injure them with a bullet, an injection of LDX would be lethal, as well as volatile – the mutant would lose all control of their powers before they died causing even more collateral damage. Xavier refused to believe the government would entertain such a notion.

Ororo thought about how the X-men have handled people like the Juggernaut, the Brotherhood...

"They might hire other mutants to police their own kind." Ororo thought, which on the surface would make the most sense for the government to do, but she couldn't see mutants volunteering for that kind of work while their rights were being stripped from them. Hank was thinking along the same lines, but more with the immediate legislation in mind.

"With the Registration Act, however, they will have to hire mutants to hunt their own kind." Hank thought sadly as a young girl's voice came from the doorway.

"No, they wouldn't hire them," X-23 walked into the room looking dishevelled but unharmed, "They'd make their own..."

oOo

He leaned his elbows on his black jacket draped over the railing of the balcony from his room as he looked out on the water in the distance. It was dark and there was a strong cool breeze coming in from the sea.

He thought of Jean.

He remembered when they first met, when Jean came to the Institute and the Professor introduced them. She was an angel, he couldn't believe that they'd be living together, training together, going to school together; but he was so nervous. He was excited to talk about their powers, not concealing his powers from someone was refreshing, but he was still too shy to ask her out. Of course, she being so perfect, it wasn't long before she started going out with Duncan Matthews.

Then, years later, they were in Mexico, and she found him. They changed. They became happy, even while Apocalypse was terrorising the world, they were happy as long as they were together. He thought everything was fine.

He saw her on the gurney after Rogue had stabbed her and he was angry with Rogue, at first. It took the evil mind games of the Phoenix in the mansion for him to see and believe what was happening to her, but he thought it would all work out, and that it would somehow be okay, until-

He thought of Alex.

He couldn't believe he was gone; lost to him again but this time so permanently. The Phoenix had killed him.

No, Jean had killed his brother.

She was going to kill Scott, but his brother had died to save him from her.

Alex was poisoned, but the gut wrenching part was that the poisoning may have been curable. If they had gotten Alex to Hank in time, maybe he would have survived the poisoning. But now they would never know. Scott would never know if Alex had thought he was going to die anyway before sacrificing himself or not.

Scott would have given anything to have been the one that had died instead of Alex. In that moment, he was angry with Alex. He had no right, letting himself be killed; Jean was his responsibility, not Alex's. If anyone should have died that day, it was Scott. Jean was Scott's family; if she was gone then he was gone. Alex had a whole other life, a whole other family, Alex had parents-

He thought of the Masters.

He had met them before; he barely remembered his own parents but Alex's adoptive mother had hugged him like he was her own, when they first met years ago when visiting Alex in Hawaii and the day before when they arrived at the Institute, and when they hugged before and after the funeral. Scott felt a deep responsibility treat them like they were his parents now, they had lost their son, Scott had lost his brother; they would help each other heal in time. At least they would have closure-

He thought of the Greys.

Jean's parents and her sister; they had seen the footage, Xavier was talking to them. From what he gathered, they were worried and angry as anyone would have expected. Jean was supposed to have started college by now, not be the biggest mutant threat since Apocalypse. She was sent to the Institute to learn control; they were disappointed, betrayed and frantic with worry.

Finally, he thought of his own mother and father and how disappointed they would be in him for not having protected his baby brother.

"That's two I owe you..." He said sadly under his breath to Alex.

Scott felt alone, again. But he wasn't alone.

"There was nothing that we could have done differently..." Kurt's voice quietly told him from where he was crouched, leaning back against the wall of the mansion on the balcony railing.

"There was, we should've taken Jean's growth in her powers more seriously." Scott started. "We should have been working on her powers every day, especially after she ran that run in the Danger Room on Wolverine's settings. She wasn't just upset, I should have seen that something wasn't right." Kurt slowly got down from his position to stand next to his friend. "I shouldn't have taken Alex on that mission, and when I did, I should have kept him with us instead of keeping him with Cannonball." Kurt looked towards the water.

"He saved our lives in Visconsin." Kurt reminded him simply. Scott nodded, remembering how Alex had gotten poisoned defending them from a Sentinel. Kurt continued and placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "He knew what he was doing; he chose to save your life."

Scott had many reasons why Alex shouldn't have done that, but he knew had their roles been reversed, Scott would have done the same for his brother and for anyone of his teammates.

Kurt felt tension return to Scott's shoulder. Scott had made a decision; he knew what his next step would be.

"We have to find her."

oOo

They sat around the table, unsure of what to do. Sam passed his cola to Bobby, who iced it up for him with a touch and slid it back down the table to him on a quickly pre-iced surface. Amara sat next to Bobby, playing distractedly with a candle, lighting it with a touch, then pinching out the flame and relighting it as she stared into space in front of her.

Jubilee sat by the window with Ray talking quietly, Roberto sat down at the other end of the table next to Rahne.

"You okay?" He asked her quietly. Rahne looked at him with nothing but blunt honesty.

"No." She answered immediately and looked at him with the same question. He took her hand his eyes telling her that he was feeling the same way.

"You want to talk about it?" She shook her head.

"No' particularly." She looked at him but he looked back at her, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand. She sighed and lowered her voice looking side to side to make sure the others weren't listening. "Aye haven' used my powers since..." She finished the rest of her sentence with her eyes, Roberto knew she could only have been referring to the night she lost control and they had to move her into the cell. He nodded for her to continue, he didn't need to ask why she would be nervous of her powers but he did wonder why she waited so long. "Ev'ryone's had more important things to be doing o'er the last few days; aye didn't want to ask someone to babysit a potentially psychotic wolf-"

"Tomorrow." He told her decisively. "We'll use the cell again if you're nervous." She nodded gratefully and bashfully. Roberto knew her well enough to know that she hated asking anyone for help, even him.

"What abou' you?" She enquired, her head dipping when looking at him. It was his turn to sigh. He looked at their hands.

"'He's about to lose it'..." He quoted himself back to her. She looked confused. "That was the last thing I said to Scott before Alex died. I held him back, I held him back from his own brother." She squeezed his hand. "Scott came with me to find you in California, he didn't stop me." He recalled when Rahne was missing. "I had no right stopping him."

"It was different-" Rahne tried to help him, justify but he wouldn't let her.

"It was the same, running head-on into obvious danger for someone you care about." He decided. Suddenly, she lightly smacked him up the side of the head. He looked at her in shock.

"You were right to hold him back, and he should've held you back." He looked at her, what was he missing? "Aye care for you too, so Aye don't want to see you runnin' into danger to save me."She told him in a low whisper. "You weren't invulnerable to needles; you should've let someone who was go after me." She had knocked sense into him, literally. "However, Aye probably would've come after you too. It's instinct, bu' decisions made on instinct aren't always intelligent."

Roberto had been looking at it from Scott's point of view, whereas he should have been looking at it from Alex's point of view. Alex's last words to them were 'Get out of here'; Alex wanted to keep them safe. He looked at Rahne.

"I see your point; thanks," he said sincerely, rubbing the spot where she had smacked him, "I guess." He looked at her with fake annoyance. "I think we should work on your bedside manner." He told her, half jokingly. She stood up from the table and kissed the side of his head where he had been rubbing it.

"Sorry, but it's a very thick skull to get through to, sometimes." She smiled at him sweetly, before she left to go to bed.

oOo

He thought that this would be the best place to sit and think, it was quiet and away from everyone. He didn't go to the funeral, he felt like he was an invader and that he didn't deserve to be at the Institute having been conned so cruelly into betraying them all. But the Professor was understanding. Piotr didn't even say anything, either his pain and guilt and regret radiated from him when he returned to the Institute said enough or the Professor had read his mind, and without Mastermind interfering this time it would have been easily done.

Piotr sat in the Gazebo alone; he tried to remember his life in Russia. Everything had come into question now, he had no idea of knowing how many of his memories were fabricated and how many were removed.

"You look like 'The Thinker'..." A small voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up, completely surprised that she was there and confused as to why she was there. Kitty mis-read his confusion to be related to the reference. "You know... the statue?" She imitated his pensive position, which was hard to do in a skirt. She was still wearing her clothes from the funeral earlier in the day.

"Да, Rodin." Colossus offered quickly.

"Right." Kitty said awkwardly standing next to the Gazebo. She hesitated but walked up the steps and sat next to him on his left. He watched her every move, still confused. "Thank you." She told him. His brow furrowed further. "For, like, bringing me home."

"I do not deserve your 'Thank you.'" He replied immediately but she corrected him.

"You saved me from a collapsing building." She clarified straight away with urgency.

"It was my fault that you were there." He allowed himself to look her in the eye, and then away quickly. "I do not deserve thanks or forgiveness." Kitty bit her lower lip trying to find the right words.

"The Professor told me what happened..." He looked at her again, and saw concern and sadness on her face.

"I am sorry, Kitty." He used her given name to apologise. "I was fooled-" She cut him off.

"You were black-mailed, and your family..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. She decided to say something else. "And I prefer 'Katya'." She clarified, placing her small hand in his large one between them. He looked at her, with surprise, gratefulness and much sadness.

"I cannot trust my memories..." He told her sorrowfully, with her left had she wiped a tear from his cheek and let her hand continue to the back of his neck. "I don't even know when Illyana died..." He said trying to convey all he was feeling to her.

"Shh, that's okay," Her fingers tightened in the short hair at the nape of his neck, "We'll figure it out..." She told him quietly. As she closed the distance between them, they took the shape of another Rodin masterpiece.

oOo

"Where is he now?" He asked her.

"Ah don't know," She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Gone, Ah guess..." Logan nodded but felt there was more to it.

"What'dya say to him?" She looked at him a little crossly.

"Same things Ah told you." She replied a touch indignantly. Logan said nothing for a while as they continued walking back to the mansion slowly, she was pretty beat and refused to use his powers to restore her energy. She had told him what she had told Gambit about the Eye of Ages, how Mastermind had planned to double cross Mystique. She also told him that she hadn't seen the Cajun since the night Alex died, but Logan felt that there was something else she wasn't telling him.

"So, who was that back there?" Logan asked her, he was wondering who exactly she was channelling when she knocked him back in to the tree. She glanced at him sideways, then back at the ground as she walked over fallen branches on their path.

He nodded.

"Can you control him?" He asked her simply, not looking at her. She shook her head.

"Ah haven't tried... Not yet..." She told him after a little hesitation, still walking.

"Any logic behind that?" He asked bluntly. Rogue was too tired to tell him anything cryptic.

"Ah wanted the rest of them under control first." She ducked down to walk under a low light branch Logan held up for her; the fact that she said 'she wanted' he would ask about later, what had changed. They walked on. Logan thought back to New York as Rogue held aside a briar for him.

"And what happened when you touched the Eye?" Her shoulders slumped; she mustn't have thought he saw that.

"Fulla questions tonight?" She said with a half grin, but she was only fooling herself if she thought she could lighten the mood or get him to forget his query. She looked at him sadly. "Ah wish Ah had answers for you."

"Wish I had all the answers myself, kid." He agreed on an exhale, but brought them back to the point. "What did it do to you?" Logan remembered how it looked like Rogue had been drained by the Eye.

Suppressing a shudder, Rogue remembered. She stopped walking.

"He... He recognised it," She told him slowly staring into the space between them, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration trying to remember and find the best words to describe it, "he talked to it; he saw that it didn't have enough energy to get where it was goin'..." She leant back against a tree and closed her eyes as she tilted her head back. "He activated Magneto's and Jean's powers to feed into it, give it a boost..."

"How did he-" Logan started to process slowly.

"I don't know..." Rogue cut him off squeezing her eyes tight, shaking her head slightly against the tree. But Logan couldn't understand how her powers could have been used that way; sure he witnessed Rogue being drained before-

"But you were touching a machine, metal... How-" Rogue cut him off again with a burst of emotion.

"I don't know!" She shouted louder as she released an abrupt sob of tears. She covered her face with her gloved hands to stop more tears from falling. She felt used, again. He had taken what he had wanted from her, again; and left her feeling like a hollow shell. She wanted to say it wasn't her fault, but that would have been childish. She dropped her hands and tried to regulate her breathing.

Logan stayed quiet until her breathing returned to normal.

"C'mon, kid," Logan stood down another briar for her to step over and held out a hand to her, "it's been a long night..." They continued up the last minor incline back to the mansion.

**End of Chapter 59**

******A.N. Got this written faster than expected, thanks to being under the weather and poor day time TV again, so make me feel better with a review - even if it's just to leave a smiley-face! Chapter 60 in-progress :) ~Rí**


	60. Chapter 60

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 60**

_She grew obsessed. She wasn't old but she was getting older. She went there seeing if there was anything to learn that would assist her quest. That was where she had met Charles Xavier for the first time; although Charles had a much more advanced understanding of genetics than she had._

_She was surprised when Charles had brought up the subject of mutants before she did, but once she learned of his powers, everything became clear. As soon as they had established that they both had special powers, she requested that Charles would not read her mind; he obliged._

_The lecturer had been interesting, she focussed on ways to reverse aging of cells and even suggested the possibility of mutating cells and even enhancing cell function. There was something about the lecturer that did not sit well with Charles, but she found her to be captivating..._

_It had taken her weeks of non-stop running to get there. She infiltrated the Kingdom, she fought an army worth of soldiers and now, finally, he lay at her feet, his blood spilled and covering the regal jewellery and garments the man had embellished himself with when he forcefully took the throne. She had avenged her father, her family but it wasn't enough. She saw the throne and she wanted it. Furthermore, she thought she felt it speak to her, choosing her, she heard it whispering temptations of power. In all of her travels she had never experienced anything like it._

_Fabric rustled behind her, she turned with lightning fast reflexes and caught the older man by his neck. He wore ceremonial garments, he was important; an elder or a priest perhaps. He was frightened, but he shook his head as he choked on his words; he was trying to tell her something..._

_The world was dark and red. Fire erupted on her left, causing her to jump away. She landed on a rock and lost her footing. Her boots skidded and she slid down a steep cliff but managed to stop herself from falling further by finding a hold onto the edge of the shelf she had just been standing on. She felt intense heat below her and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as the lava bubbled violently underneath her. _

_She had to pull herself up to safety. She turned her head back and looked up to see a massive Jurassic demon eyeing her for just a split second before opening its jaws and jerking down to bite-_

"Agh!" Rogue let out a short gasp as she jolted awake from her dream, or from what she thought might have been her dream, or rather, dreams. Rogue couldn't get the image of the creatures out of her head. She recognised them from her own memories at the Sadie-Hawkins dance in the high school, they were the monsters from the other dimension that Kurt had teleported through.

She thought she recognised the other people in her dreams as well; were they dreams or memories, she wasn't sure. They had felt like memories, important ones too but they were fading away like smoke; and their faces...

She looked at the time and figured it was still a few hours before dawn. She wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon. She decided to get up. She went downstairs towards the kitchen but she got distracted as she passed Xavier's office. The light was still on.

She approached the door tentatively.

"Professor?" Rogue asked with a rap on the door. Xavier was at the window, his head turned with Rogue's entrance.

"Oh, good morning, Rogue." Xavier greeted her a little surprised then looked at her quizzically. "Trouble sleeping?" Rogue entered the room somewhat nonchalant.

"That's par for the course these days, Professor." She replied with a shrug, walking over to the fireplace.

"Nightmares?" He asked, unable to sense any thoughts from her. She nodded, running her fingers along the edge of the high marble mantel.

"Mixed with memories." She added. Xavier furrowed his brow; she had never offered up her feelings straight out before, only when absolutely necessary. He wondered if recent events had prompted a change. He wanted to keep her talking.

"Has it gotten worse recently?" He was aware that she had been having these issues on and off since she first moved to the Institute, but he had only discovered that the night they discovered Kurt's true heritage through Rogue's dreams of Mystique past.

"Too many people, too many lives and way too many memories." She admitted easily enough. Xavier wheeled away from the window and over to the fireplace to join her.

"Your training with Logan to control those personalities, has that helped?" He asked, having learned some facts about Rogue's time at the lake since their last trip there. She half smiled.

"It's helped to eliminate the 'power' of surprise." Rogue jested dropping her hand from the ledge.

"How do you mean?" Xavier enquired. Rogue crossed her arms and thought of the best way to describe it.

"For the personalities Ah've tried; Ah've focussed enough on their memories to find the moment when someone discovered their powers." Xavier added his own commentary.

"A period of heightened emotional stress... You've tapped into the moment that people activated their powers to activate them for you." She nodded once. "But you haven't explored all of their memories?" She shook her head, confirming the shortcuts she had been taking.

"It doesn't bother me most of the time; but sometimes memories just come to me, like flashbacks, randomly during the day or-" Xavier finished her sentence.

"When you're sleeping..." Rogue agreed. Xavier put his fingers together in thought, the tip of his index fingers touching his chin. He had came to a conclusion. "You need to go deeper." He started. "It's important to know all of our memories, suppressing them is never good; in your case, I feel that having memories that you're not aware of is your equivalent to suppressing them." Rogue nodded and then paused.

"Sometimes, it feels like Ah'm invading, you know, like Ah'm violating someone's trust if Ah explore too much." Rogue told him.

"That's understandable and very noble, Rogue; but you must consider these memories to be yours now. Otherwise, you will be at their mercy." Nobility, she felt that wasn't the most suitable word.

"Go deeper..." She thought about it and released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. The notion of such profound exploration of so many lives to such intimate detail was intimidating. Rogue was quiet for a moment.

"Ah'm sorry Ah took us away from here." She told him on a change of subject. It took a moment for Xavier to catch on. "Ah brought us to New York when we should've been here; we could've prevented what happened." Tears formed in her eyes. Xavier wheeled closer.

"Wanda was causing my powers to go out of control, Rogue; if you hadn't taken me away, I could have killed everyone in the area." Xavier told her firmly. "Thank you for saving me from that fate." She stared at him until finally she believed him. He thought back. "And as for New York, I was the one who said something wasn't right there." She thought of New York and she looked at him very seriously.

"Do you know what that machine was?" Xavier nodded.

"I got a glimpse of what Mastermind was thinking before I was concussed." Xavier told her. "A device to travel through space and time... Quite like the Eye of Ages." Rogue looked at him and he nodded, he had figured it out as well.

"It _was_ the Eye of Ages." She stated resolutely. "Well, the first version; no doubt Forge will improve it." She concluded. Xavier exhaled slowly.

"When you touched Mastermind, did you find out where they were going?" Rogue shook her head.

"Not where," Rogue corrected him, "When. About five-hundred years into the future." Rogue told him without hesitation.

"And then somehow, it ended up in ancient Egypt..." They were both silent for a while.

"We're never gonna see Forge again, are we?" Rogue concluded. She sounded like a child. Xavier sighed.

"I'm afraid it is unlikely." He concluded realistically.

"We could have stopped it, if we knew what Mystique was up to sooner; we could have prevented them from buildin'-" Xavier interrupted her.

"Rogue, no one could have known what was going to happen." He had to convince her.

"Apocalypse did." They became silent again as the sun rose.

oOo

"Ready?" He asked her, she wore her X-men uniform. She closed the door of the cage, hearing it click and lock. She looked at him.

"Abou' as ready as Aye'll ever be." She replied with a nervous exhale. Roberto went to the bars that separated them.

"Hey." She met him at the bars. He reached between the bars to take her hand. "It'll be okay." She nodded and backed up, letting his hand fall as she did. Rahne transformed before his eyes into Wolfsbane. The massive wolf sniffed the air and then started to pace side to side in the cage, like a trapped animal. Roberto didn't think this was a good sign.

"Rahne?" She stopped and looked at him. Her ears pointed back and she dipped her head as she approached the bars. She nosed between the bars of the cage and Roberto felt compelled to put out a hand to her. She sniffed his hand and tentatively nuzzled it. Roberto sighed.

"Satisfied now?" He asked her. She looked up at him and before his eyes she transformed back into Rahne. She was smiling. He open the cage for her and she ran out, practically toppling him over with the force of her hug. He couldn't help smile back, it was the first big and genuine smile she had since she first lost control.

oOo

Rogue left Xavier's office and continued to the kitchen. Her morning was off to a very heavy start after such a depressing conversation. She reached the kitchen and found her brother, as he insisted she call him, there ahead of her.

"Hey." She greeted him as she went straight for the coffee.

"Rogue!" Kurt turned in surprise, he hadn't seen much of her since she had woken from her coma; but as much as he was happy to see her, he looked at her sadly as she poured her coffee. He watched her walk over to pull out a chair from the table. "We missed you at the funeral." The chair froze mid movement; he knew he had her attention. Whatever she was going through, she had to hear what Kurt thought. "Scott could have used another friend there." He let his statement sink in, it wasn't supposed to be a admonishment or a guilt trip, but he wanted her think of Scott. Rogue pulled the chair the rest of the way out, feeling suddenly very tired. She sighed.

"Ah'm sorry about that." She sat down at the table and looked across the breakfast counter at him. "How is Scott?" Kurt shook his head. "Right, stupid question." Kurt looked at her but took a moment before saying anything, wondering if it was his place to say.

"He vants to find Jean." Rogue posture straightened.

"She'll kill him." Rogue said definitively. Kurt didn't agree.

"Maybe not; maybe he could get through to her." Rogue shook her head as Kurt grasped at promising straws.

"He couldn't even hope to distract her long enough to accomplish that on his own." She decided. Kurt thought back to Rochester.

"What about you, you could help him. You've fought her before." Rogue let out a puff of disbelieving air, but she had to explain herself to Kurt.

"We're... evenly matched, at best." She admitted, angry at herself. "Jean's fully connected with her powers now." Kurt came over to the table to sit opposite her.

"But you have the same powers, Rogue." Kurt tried to reassure her thinking that this was just about her confidence. She looked at him apologetically.

"Ah'm too unstable, Ah don't think Ah'm ready to take her on."

Kurt said nothing in response. The quiet didn't sit well with her. She wanted to fill the silence for once.

"Thank you for looking after me," She told him; he wasn't sure what she was referring to, "When Ah was in a coma." She clarified.

"It vas nothing; you saved us from Jean in Rochester." Rogue recalled the sequence of events in Rochester.

"You remember the lake?" She asked him. Kurt nodded and then looked hurt.

"Rogue, why did you make me forget that?" He asked like a child wondering what he had done wrong. Rogue hated that look in him, she had to explain her actions; it was only fair.

"Because of Jean." She said quickly but corrected herself as fast. "Because of the Phoenix." Kurt looked confused. She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face in frustration. "Ah was afraid if anyone but Logan and Ah knew that she would take that information and come after me before Ah was ready, but then Rochester happened and Ah had no choice." Before Kurt could think that she didn't trust him she added an extra sentence for clarity. "It's difficult to read Logan's mind, and no one can read my mind." Kurt huffed.

"Ja, tell me about it..." She did not appreciate the sarcastic comment from her brother and rolled her eyes to communicate something to that effect. Kurt thought about what Rogue was saying.

"You knew she was going to lose it." Kurt concluded; Rogue nodded.

"Ah didn't know when she wou-" Kurt interrupted, barely hearing her.

"How?" He asked, utterly baffled. Rogue looked down at her coffee shaking her head slightly.

"Doesn't matter..." She wanted to avoid all details.

"Maybe not," Kurt told her, "But it will matter to Scott." Rogue suddenly felt that Kurt and Logan had been practising their guilt trips. She closed her eyes, raised her arms and clasped her hands behind her head in frustration.

"The glimpse of the future that the Professor got from Apocalypse; it predicted it would happen." She told him not wanting to open her eyes.

"The Professor knew too-" Kurt processed in disbelief but Rogue needed to speed things up.

"He knows a lot of things." She told him, implying that he tended to be something less than open about information in general; then again, so was she. "The Professor thought he could handle it himself, but he was wrong."

"What do you mean; 'he knows a lot of things'?" She thought about it for a moment and decided to approach a topic she had wanted to discuss with him for a long time, but it would have to be done delicately.

"Kurt, do you remember the dream Ah had, when Ah first came to the Institute?" She had his undivided attention. "The one where you were dropped into the river as a baby?" She said every word a carefully as possible. Kurt paled to a slightly whiter blue recalling that revelation into his past when Rogue first moved in to the Institute.

"Ja, that was how I discovered that Mystique was my mother." He clarified slowly with just a hint of resentment, wondering where she was going with that. "What about that dream?" He asked her, eyeing her suspiciously given what they had been talking about. Rogue decided that context was needed. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she thought of what to say.

"Ah'm having trouble with my powers," She admitted simply though to Kurt it was like stating the obvious, "You've seen me, Ah'm not exactly a model of control for the Xavier Institute." She added, self-deprecatingly.

"Have you talked to the Professor about this?" Kurt enquired.

"Yeah, just now." She nodded. "He says Ah've gotta 'delve in deeper'," She used air quotes, "into the personalities and each person's memories up to when Ah absorbed them to really get control." Kurt realised the workload in trying to accomplish that task.

"You don't sound too happy about that..." He dipped his head to catch her eyes with his. She looked back and forth between him and her hands, her fingers fidgeting nervously with her gloves.

"If Ah discovered something about your past, like that night," She asked nervously, "Would you want me to tell you?" Rogue felt for the first time in years like a teenager. It was a dilemma everyone should come across at some point in their life; you know a friend's girlfriend is cheating on him; do you tell him? Overhearing you're parents discussing something, they're taking about getting a divorce; do you tell your siblings? That was stuff that she was wishing for. She thought of them as normal dilemmas, but she considered all of the information she had gotten off of people over the years to be stolen information, taken without consent. What's more, it was the information from more than just one person. It was a similar dilemma to that faced by a telepath, but a telepath could quieten their mind after using their power and return to just their own thoughts. She was forced to know things she didn't want to know and keep the people affected walking around in her mind. It was a lot of people to be keeping happy all of the time.

Kurt thought about the question. His first instinct was to say yes, but then he remembered about being so excited to discover what Rogue's dream was about and how she knew the baby was him. He practically begged the Professor and Rogue to tell him what they saw; but then he recalled meeting what was supposed to be a stranger at the construction site to find out for himself. He remembered the acute and still lingering pain of finding out his true parentage.

Rogue waited patiently and watched Kurt think it through. He answered her after careful consideration.

"I'm not sure, Rogue." He replied, "It would have to depend on what it is you know." He concluded non-committing as someone else walked into the kitchen.

"What do you know, Rogue?" Scott asked and he was not amused.

**End of Chapter 60**

****_A.N. I got two little kittens yesterday... thought I'd share that. Must go and begin their introduction to the dogs now! Leave a review please while I tend to my potential scratch marks c".) ~Rí_**  
**


	61. Chapter 61

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 61**

"What do you know, Rogue?" She looked at him, she was confused. He couldn't have been that upset purely because she missed the funeral. Then she realised he wasn't upset; he was angry almost to the point of livid. It was the basement all over again. He was looking at her like he hated her, like it was her fault that Alex was dead. Maybe it was true, maybe; despite the Professor's objections earlier. She had the power to stop whatever they faced and to protect everyone she cared for, if only she could control it...

"Scott, meine freund; you woke up early too?" Kurt supplied feeling the tension and looking a little cautious with his movements. He had picked up on the mood too, but, same as Rogue, he had no idea why.

Rogue had a bad feeling when Scott didn't respond. Rogue slid her cup across the table to Kurt slowly.

"Scott, do you wanna go for a walk outside with me?" She asked slowly. As pupils, they had already damaged most of the rooms in the mansion, if this didn't go down well then there was no sense in ruining the kitchen as well.

"Why?" Scott asked her suspiciously, like she was the one playing games. Rogue was sick of this; she rolled her eyes as she rose from the table.

"Let me put it another way; Ah'm goin' outside. If you've got somethin' to say to me then by all means come along!" She replied like she was talking to a moron, which, in this instance she felt like she was. She always hated Scott's temper, she hated his prejudice temper even more and especially when it was combined with being directed at her.

"What makes you think I have something to say, Rogue." Again, with the suspicion.

"Well, there's obviously something you wanna discuss." Kurt's anxiety levels increased, he was currently in a room located between two of the most stubborn people he knew, who had highly destructive super powers and raised voices. Rogue looked at Kurt and they shared a brief exchange.

Scott didn't reply so Rogue went to open the sliding door to the back garden of the house and walked out. She heard the faintest of footsteps following her. She kept walking and she didn't turn to face him until they were at the cliff's edge.

When she turned, Scott had a hand on his glasses, there was red blazing behind each lens; but Rogue was ready.

"You have something to ask me, Scott?" Rogue replied calmly.

"Did you come to the Institute to join the X-men, or did you come on Mystique's orders?" Rogue was slightly taken aback.

"Why are you asking me that?" Rogue didn't move.

"You're not denying it." He replied, convinced of her guilt. Rogue was baffled; no matter what he could have overheard she couldn't understand how he would come to that conclusion.

"Scott, what have you heard?" Rogue replied as she saw Kurt behind in the distance with people.

"I should have realised it sooner." Scott started approaching her slowly. "In the caves, Mystique was there conveniently instead of Paul. She attacked me so you could save me to gain my trust and enter the Institute." Scott accused her. "Then there was Risty, who was really Mystique. You gave her the access she needed to the house to kidnap the Professor and blow up the mansion." He got closer to her, too close for Rogue's comfort. Rogue's fist bunched. "You awoke Apocalypse then supposedly stopped him!" Rogue's anger reached a high. She felt her body take over and her fist draw back.

KlakK!

Rogue's fist made sharp contact with Scott's jaw, knocking him to the ground. Scott recovered faster than she wanted and half stood rubbing his jaw.

"Apocalypse's memories!" He shouted at her with venom as he stood fully. "You said it yourself, you knew Jean was going to lose control and you did nothing to stop it!" He rushed forwards but was held back by the arms by someone stronger than him. Scott struggled against him. But that didn't stop his accusations.

"Alex is dead because of you!" He shouted at her and the grip that the person behind him had on him tightened painfully.

"You're outta line, bub!" Logan growled into his ear from behind. Scott struggled.

"Hold on to him, Logan." Xavier instructed as he wheeled towards them with Kurt.

"He was not talking like this last night, something must have happened!" Kurt spoke as fast as his understanding of English allowed him. Rogue approached Scott with a dipped head and furrowed brow.

"She's been talkin' to him." Rogue answered everyone's questions. There was a moment of silence prior to Scott's objections.

"No! Don't listen to her! She's tricked us from the beginning, Professor!" He struggled against Wolverine's hold. But Xavier came closer and looked at him with the same look as Rogue.

"I'm sorry, Scott; but I need to look into your mind." Xavier placed his fingers to his temples and concentrated on Scott's mind. Scott flinched at the probe but Xavier stopped almost as soon as he had started. "You're right, Rogue. Jean has been talking to Scott." Rogue nodded.

"That's not all she's been doing..." Rogue never looked away from Scott.

**oOo**

_Earlier..._

'_**Scott...' **Whispering echoed around him. He pivoted on the spot trying to determine where it was coming from but it was impossible. The whispering repeated his name, near him, away from him, to his left then right. Scott was disoriented, he didn't even know where he was, there was no world around him when he tried to see. _

_Suddenly his foot hit the ground and it squelched in mud. He looked down; he was standing in a wet rough ground with flecks of grass in random patches like weeds. But the ground was unnaturally wet, like it had been wet from a sudden downpour. _

_It was raining heavily around him, massive droplets hit his skin, cooling. _

_The air around him was warm and the air smelt of–_

_Kra-Ka BOOM!_

_Lightning struck over head and he looked up from the ground and saw-_

"_Jean!" Scott uttered as he saw her. She was as he always thought of her; beautiful, warm and angelic. _

"_Scott!" She shouted indicating over his shoulder. Scott looked over and saw Ororo in a pool of water, and looked up higher to falling power lines. Silently he ran forward and jumped into the water and scooped up Ororo. Jean levitated them all out of the water as the power lines fell. Scott looked up and saw Rogue high in the sky. A hurricane was growing around her as she fell victim to Ororo's powers._

'_**Her first taste of real power, and she almost levelled Caldecott.' **Jean's voice whispered. _

"_It wasn't her fault, she didn't know what she was doing; it was the first night Rogue had ever even used her powers, let alone had to try and control Storm's powers." He defended his friend high in the sky. _

"_Too much... Power... Ah can't... Control it... Ah... Argh!" Rogue screamed!_

_Bamf! _

_Rogue disappeared in a cloud of brimstone and the winds died down. _

'_**By her own admission...'** Jean whispered. _

_The scene went black and suddenly his head hurt and his back was cold. He felt someone pull him by the shoulders along the ice. He heard the professor's voice they were looking for him. He was injured, wet and cold. Rogue took off his glasses and got him to shoot a beam straight up into the air. He felt her put back on his glasses. And then, he felt her cold fingers touch his forehead. He felt his life force exhale into her and it was the most unpleasant feeling of his life to that point. He knew how her powers worked, they had been used on him before when he was unconscious, but the last thing he remembered before blacking out was that feeling, the feeling of death siphoning off his soul. _

'_**You were hurt, you were weak and she stole a part of you without your consent, and this time it was no accident.'** Scott want to open his eyes to see what Rogue's face was like when she did that to him, but it wasn't possible, his eyes were not obeying his will. _

_All of a sudden, white noise filled his senses, it was deafening, but it started to become clearer. He could hear everyone for miles around him, but what was deafening started to feel like an extension of himself. He could feel every molecule around him, every brick in every building in Bayville, every electron travelling slowly along the wires for miles on grids. He could hear voices, he tried to focus, those voices became clearer and familiar. He heard his own voice..._

"_I've gotta get back up there!" He said, and all of a sudden he was himself on the ground floor of the mansion. _

"_Wait, you can't even get close to her!" Logan put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "We need a plan." He stated firmly but Scott didn't want to hear it. _

"_Like what?!" He heard himself say and it came back to him, it was the day Jean had first lost total control of her powers. _

"_Ah have an idea." Rogue placed a hand on his shoulder, urging him to face her. Scott saw her and sudden felt like she had anything but Jean's interests at heart. It was odd, clearly a memory but he never remembered having those feelings towards her before. "You say there's too much goin' on in Jean's head, then let me drain some off!" _

'_**Of course she would do that, for me...'** Jean's voice whispered in Scott's head, dripping with sarcasm. _

"_No, Rogue; it may be too much for you." Xavier said firmly. **'It was the best plan, Scott, but why was Xavier so against it; to protect his little Rogue? Or was it to avoid two people that would eventually be more powerful than him?'**_

"_Ah can handle it!" She shouted back adamantly. "Just let me try!"_

"_There's so much chaos in her mind, what she needs is something to focus on." Xavier explained._

"_If Rogue can clear her thoughts," Scott placed a hand on Rogue's back, "Then maybe I can get her to focus on me?" He heard himself argue. _

"_We don't have too many options, Charles." Logan added. _

_Jean made Scott feel what it was like to have everyone plotting to stop her, to stunt her growth. They formed their plans and approached._

"_Now, Rogue! You must do it now!" Xavier shouted the order. Then Jean's life was being drained by Rogue. Rogue was talking her power for her own, she had always been jealous of her, her popularity, **'My closeness to you...'**, Jean whispered in his head. **'She was holding on too long! She was trying to kill me, Scott...'** Jean used her powers to break the wire Rogue was anchored too and sent her across the room in defence..._

'_**She was jealous of us at the concert, she followed us there...'** Jean whispered, and Scott's mind was cast back to the concert, **'The Descanso Rivets'**. Rogue was there, was she spying on them? Jean made him remember Rogue losing control in the Warehouse. **'She wasn't losing control; she knew what she was doing...'**_

"_Rogue?! Are you in here? Talk to me, tell me what's happening? We're here to help you!" Scott heard himself shout out. _

"_Hey, big-shot! Better help yourself!" Rogue shouted at him in his mirror image. She blasted him with his own powers. **'She was just itching for an excuse to hurt you as much as you hurt her...'** Jean whispered more corrupting thoughts to him. Scott was doubled over with the blast. _

"_Hurt's more than I thought." Logan helped him up and Scott could still feel the pain, even though he was sure it was a memory. _

"_She's shape-shifting, she could be anybody..." Logan told him as the ground shook. _

"_Like Avalanche..." He suggested as shelves started to collapse on them. _

"_Help me..." Rogue's voice was meek and pitiful. **'It was a trap to lower you're defences.'**_

"_We will, Rogue; just stay calm." Logan tried to pacify her. **'He doesn't know what power is, what right has he to tell her that.'** Jean whispered bitterly. Scott shook her from his head, Rogue was in trouble, she didn't do anything wrong._

"_We're your friends." He called out to her. She threw her arms out crossly. _

"_Ah have no friends!" She shouted at them, her voice breaking as she turned into Storm. **'She was never interested in having friends. Can't you see? She's been working for Mystique all along. Strategically placed among us to take our powers...'**_

_The scene changed again, Scott struggled to keep up. They were outside, it was their graduation. Pietro dragged Rogue out front and centre after Magneto had scared off everyone. Rogue had been collecting powers for Apocalypse. **'Or for herself...' **Scott shook his head. _

"_No, Rogue would never have released him of her own free will." Scott objected. "She never would have collected those powers again after the problems she had the night of the concert. She wasn't working for Mystique." He was adamant, but so was Jean. _

'_**How did she re-entomb him, Scott?'** Jean whispered. '**The most powerful mutant in the world and all it took was the power of a child to stop him forever...'** Rogue thought back to the plan of Rogue using Leech's power to stop Apocalypse but Jean was right, it sounded too easy. Did Rogue re-entomb him or did she let him escape. _

'_**Rogue disappeared, for months, with Logan; he's her pet now, he'll back up any story she offers...'**_

_Another flash of another memory was from Jean herself. Scott grabbed his side and screamed but no sound came out. He looked at his side where the pain was blinding and saw a hand with knuckles facing into his body. He was stabbed by three claws, Rogue's claws. Then he realised it was Rogue stabbing Jean in Rochester. _

_The scene changed again, they were in the basement. Jean was unconscious but her powers had flared up creating a dark flame shield around the room. Rogue was able to use Jean's powers to enter the room, diverting and vapourising objects as they flew around the room to hit her. Rogue got closer to Jean and reached out to Jean's face, her hand pushing hard against the dark fiery shield that was growing around Jean's skin. She reached down through the resistance to pinch Jean's nose and cover her mouth wholly with one hand and press down to smother her. Scott was forced to watch Rogue suffocating Jean while she lay in a hospital bed. **'I was defenceless...'** The images of Jean's powers began to erase from the memory like dissipating smoke. He was left with the memory of Rogue attacking Jean un-provoked. _

_The scene changed and they were back outside, the Sentinels... It was only a few days ago._

_Jean appeared from the flames, obliterating all Sentinels in sight.** 'I saved you from them.'** She whispered in his mind, tainting his memory. _

"_But Alex-" Scott said with despair, not knowing what to believe any more, but Jean continued his thoughts for him. _

'_**He would have killed you, he was a threat and he knew it. The poison turned him into a bomb. He had no control. If Rogue had been more open from the start, Alex wouldn't have been poisoned...'** She poisoned his thoughts with lies. The scene replayed of Jean killing Alex, but it was replayed with something new; compassion. He saw Alex walk to Jean with his arms outstretched. _

"_Save me..." Alex whispered to the Phoenix in front of him. "I don't want to hurt anyone." He begged. Jean nodded, and with a faint motion, Alex was dead. _

'_**It's what he wanted...'** Jean breathed to Scott. _

"Alex!" Scott woke in a cold sweat his hands immediately going to his face to feel that his glasses were in place as he opened his eyes. Realising where he was he relaxed immediately. He got up as normal, forgetting the details of the dream that awoke him so violently. But, for some reason; he was thinking about Rogue.

By the time he had reached the Kitchen, all of his thoughts had led him to suspicions, resentment and anger towards Rogue. That was when he overheard Kurt and Rogue talking in the kitchen...

oOo

_Now..._

Rogue turned to Xavier in question as Logan held Scott back and Kurt stood by quietly.

"I don't know how it's possible from a distance without the use of Cerebro." Xavier answered her silent query and turned back to Scott. "But you are right, Rogue. Jean has been talking to Scott and she's been altering his memories..."

**End of Chapter 60**

_A.N. I'll be out of the country, sans laptop, for a week so next chapter will be al least two weeks away. Leave a review! Thank you! :) ~Rí_**  
**


	62. Chapter 62

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 62**

Rogue stood as far away as possible from everyone in Xavier's office. Cyclops was tied and restrained to a chair in the middle of the room; Logan and Hank were standing behind him. Xavier had taken the portable headgear from Cerebro to help with the damage done to Scott by the Phoenix. Logan crossed his arms and stepped back to Rogue, who was in the doorway hugging her arms and biting her lower lip nervously.

"Uncomfortable, kid?" Logan asked as his stood right next to her, leaning against the doorframe. Very few people were comfortable enough with Rogue to stand that close to her without hesitation, Logan was one of them and the first of them. "You look ready to run out that door." Rogue's eyes never left the back of Scott's head as she shook hers.

"Why would Jean do this?" She asked him, not really expecting any answers. Logan shrugged and adjusted his back to a more comfortable position on the door frame, scratching a slight itch between his shoulder blades as he moved.

"Sometimes people just wanna sit back 'n' watch the world burn, kid. Ain't no rhyme or reason." Rogue shook her head in response.

"That's a cop-out." Rogue disagreed harshly, frustrated. "Jean, the Phoenix, whatever; there's always a reason..." Logan looked at her with one eyebrow raised; she flicked her eyes to him quickly to see his expression and shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, so maybe it's buried at the bottom of a basket full of crazy..." Rogue mumbled with a frown.

"You think she's got some logic behind this?" Logan asked her still with one eyebrow raised but Rogue recalled something.

"Kurt said that Scott had decided last night to find Jean..." Logan looked at her and caught on to the theory.

"You think she sensed it?" He asked her as he now considered Rogue to be the world's foremost authority on super mutant powers; after all, she did have a unique insight into Jean's mind.

"She managed to talk to him and change his memories," Rogue stated, "And from some distance too." She couldn't sense Jean to be anywhere nearby. She frowned at Scott. "Ah don't think eaves-dropping on her boyfriend would be too hard a task..." Logan agreed.

"She wants to stop Scott from lookin' for her or she wants to keep us busy with this?" He gestured to Scott with a tilt of his head.

"Maybe both. She's messing with him to keep any of us from tryin' to find her." Rogue hypothesised. She said stock-still. She watched Xavier put on the Cerebro headgear.

Rogue cringed when she felt Xavier's amplified power ripple through the room as he entered Scott's mind. There was no telling what kind of damage the Phoenix had done to him, Jean could have done all sorts of things to Scott's mind; deleted memories, added memories, altered memories, she could have planted suggestions or-

"Professor, wait!" She leapt forward and threw out a fiery psychic shield between Scott and Xavier as a dark fiery blast of energy burst forth from Scott's mind towards Xavier's in an angry attack. Everyone in the room jumped back but fortunately, Rogue was just in time to prevent it from unleashing its full effect on Xavier as the dark energy died back.

Xavier and Rogue were panting from the energy they had both expelled in the attack; Scott fell limp in the chair with his head dropped forwards.

"What the hell was that?!" Logan said from a fighting stance but had nothing to stab or maim. Xavier took off the headgear as Rogue stared at Scott with fire still burning around her.

"Jean planted psychic mines in Scott." Xavier said once he had caught his breath.

"She booby trapped him?" Logan asked to clarify. Xavier nodded.

"We've under estimated her power." Xavier conceded gravely.

"No." Rogue disagreed, her eyes glowing with the power of the Phoenix. "We're just not ready for it." But that was less comforting.

oOo

He wandered distractedly, the corridor...

His room...

The roof...

Bamf!

The Gazebo...

Bamf!

The basement...

'_If Ah discovered something about your past, like that night would you want me to tell you?' _

He thought over again and again about what Rogue said to him. Kurt knew she was using it was an example, a hypothetical, but she would not have been so nervous if she hadn't some information in mind that related to him. He remembered the night he found out that Mystique was his biological mother, standing on the balcony of his room with Rogue. She tried to comfort him, and told him that the Professor would help him find answers.

'_Somehow, I think he already knows more than he's willing to tell us.'_ He said to her.

'_Maybe, but if he does, he's probably got good reasons for not telling you.'_ And she wasn't lying. Maybe there was nothing to tell or maybe he had good reasons for not telling him, if the latter, then Kurt feared the truth. If his past or origins were nothing but sunshine, lollipops and rainbows the Professor would have nothing to keep from him and considering he was yet to receive any further information on this from either Mystique or Xavier, he had to assume the worst. The question was how worse was the worst?

Kurt wandered some more and didn't snap out of his daze until his foot hit something made of metal. Kurt looked down and saw his toe had bumped into some scrap metal. Kurt looked around snapping out of his trance, he found himself in the X-jet hanger standing on a piece of what once was part of the plane. Hank had laid out the debris of the X-jet; the parts that had been snapped off went they were blasted down by a Sentinel and what was left after Alex had blown through the roof of the plane shortly before he...

Kurt flipped the piece of metal over and found that it had fallen off the front of the plane. He meandered among the debris and the larger parts of the plane that Hank was in the process of stripping down, it was as good as distraction as any from the conversation with Rogue.

He stared mindlessly at the pieces. Something caught his eye, laid out separately on the floor with a laptop next to it, the flight data recorder. He had no interest in their flight to and from Winconsin as that recorder would only contain, but Kurt had another thought. He started walking, with each step feeling more determined and resolute that there was something to be found...

oOo

Rogue practically ran out of the office. Xavier had halted going any further into Scott's mind for the time being and no one objected.

Rogue felt like her head was about to explode. She ran and kept running, unaware that she was still glowing with the fire of the Phoenix.

They had to find Jean, and she had to face her but when? She wasn't ready. Even if they knew where to find her the element of surprise was gone and Jean...

Something had happened the night Alex died, she fully connected to the power of the Phoenix and she became the silent partner in the relationship to the point where she let the Phoenix kill the brother of the man she loved.

No, that wasn't fair; she didn't just let her kill him. She's been fighting ever since she lost her head in the school auditorium. It wasn't Jean's fault.

Rogue had made it to the girl's locker room and stopped in front of the first mirror and stared at herself and at the fire in her eyes that really belonged to Jean.

Rogue can attest to being at the mercy of power. Had it been Rogue, she'd want to be forgiven. She was forgiven when she lost control in the Warehouse. But she didn't kill anyone. Yet...

Rogue suddenly found it very hard to breathe. Rogue could barely look at herself and started pulling off her studded collar around her neck but her hands only touched skin, she realised she wasn't wearing anything on around her neck as her agonised breathing continued. She was just having a panic attack. She grabbed the edges of the counter as if her life depended on it.

Rogue knew she was dangerous; she couldn't vouch for her own sanity if she was to face someone as unstable as Jean at the moment but then again, she wasn't sure if she could ever vouch for herself. The only thing she could do was to gain as much control as possible. Training at the lake was safe, and at a good distance from the Institute, but as Xavier pointed out, she was taking short cuts.

Her breathing steadied and the fire in her eyes became her own.

oOo

Xavier placed the portable Cerebro headgear back in position next to the real one with Logan standing behind him.

"So, that's it; no more we can do?" Logan asked regarding Scott's condition.

"We have to find Jean; until we do I'm afraid that this won't be the end of tricks the Phoenix will resort to to keep us at bay." Xavier said solemnly as he turned his chair to face Logan.

"Tricks?" Logan repeated. "You're calling messing with someone's mind and changing their memories a trick." Logan said harshly.

"Apologies if that sounded cavalier, Logan, but yes, for telepaths it is a trick." Xavier responded, in no mood to entertain sugar coating. "There's no way past her mind mines without knowing what damage might be done to Scott in the process, and I'm not willing to risk that." Xavier explained.

"Who else will she target?" Logan asked bluntly. Xavier sighed, deducing the most likely targets by process of elimination.

"Almost everyone is at risk, Logan. She most likely started with Scott because of the rapport they share." Xavier confessed. "She's unlikely to go after you or me."

"Or me." Rogue added from the doorway. "She won't take on other telepaths, but she'll make your life difficult." Rogue declared with such authority that Xavier and Logan looked at her with question. She shrugged. "It's what Ah'd do..." Rogue added. "As much as Ah hate to suggest it, mental blocks may be appropriate for almost everyone in the Institute. With the others it's either impossible or difficult to invade their minds." Logan nodded.

"Us." He said to Rogue and turned to Xavier. "Magneto, Mystique." He listed off the obvious ones. "Everyone else could become her tool."

"Gambit has some resistance." Rogue supplied, though that made little difference since he was no longer at the Institute.

"Mr. Rasputin is invulnerable when in his metallic form." Xavier added to their collection.

"But the Tin Man's vulnerable the rest of the time. Could she plant suggestions?" Logan asked as Rogue walked past him and Xavier to the portable headgear for Cerebro. The question was forgotten as Rogue picked it and it's accessories up and turned back around to them.

"Rogue?" She looked at them both for a moment and then remembered her manners.

"Oh, right; Ah need to borrow this, Professor." She held up the helmet on 'this'. Xavier felt a little uneasy and Rogue felt it. "Hey, you suggested getting to know everyone in here better to help me get control," She tapped her head with her free hand, "And since you can't read my mind, Ah'll have to read my own and Ah can't afford to waste time." Logan found the logic to be sound but Xavier didn't.

"Cerebro requires a great deal of control, Rogue-" Xavier explained carefully before Rogue interrupted.

"Ah know how to use it, Professor; Ah have you in here too." Again she gestured to her head.

"But you have others that may take advantage." Xavier replied. Rogue felt that one in her stomach. She shook it off and tried not to get angry but failed miserably.

"Which is why Ah need to get started," She rebutted heatedly and started walking past him and Logan, "And you can save the whole 'here be dragons' speech." Logan reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Rogue!" Logan barked at her chastisingly. Rogue stopped and knew how immature she was being but it didn't make her less angry.

"Sorry, Professor; but there's no alternative." Rogue apologised but Xavier was still staring.

"Rogue?" Logan said again, a touch softer than the first time. She looked back at him.

"What?" Rogue asked, but answered her own question when she saw a reflected glow in Logan's eyes. She realised her hot temper towards Xavier had sparked someone else's temper, the Phoenix. Rogue focussed on Logan and didn't break eye contact.

Snikt! Snikt!

Rogue popped the bone claws on both hands while still hanging onto the Cerebro helmet and watched the glow disappear in Logan's face. Logan nodded.

Un-snikt! Un-snikt!

The cuts on her knuckles healed very fast and Logan let go of her arm. Xavier watched the exchange with interest.

"Better." Logan confirmed and let go of her arm. "I'm gonna go check on Cyke." He started moving towards the door and turned back from the door. "Best get those mental blocks in place." He left the instruction with Xavier as he went back to relieve Hank of guard duty.

Rogue waited for Xavier to say something first as she hugged the helmet to her.

"I'm impressed, Rogue." She looked at him with a frown. "If I'm not mistaken, you've already applied our strategy." Rogue was left somewhat speechless when another voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Professor?" A think Bavarian accent called out from the doorway. Xavier and Rogue saw Kurt standing there holding up a disc. "Why did Logan take the X-jet to Deutschland?"

oOo

He left the seedy bar through the front door and let it swing behind him. He straightened his trench coat with a quick shake, feeling that that would get the slimy feeling off of him from having to talk to those low lives. But it may have been worth it. Seemed like he had managed to persuade the information from them; using his natural charm of course.

He spotted a little bit of glass on his shoulder and brushed it off. He took one look back and saw a few girls grabbing their cash and running, avoiding standing on any of the unconscious bodies on the floor in their stilettos.

He walked away with the door still swinging behind him.

oOo

Xavier could feel the hurt and betrayal radiating off of Kurt. He knew he had left it too long to tell Kurt, somehow he had hoped that Kurt would never ask about it; Xavier had taken Kurt's silence as a sign that he had forgotten about Rogue's dream and his dark beginnings but he now realised that Kurt had simply trusted Xavier to tell him everything eventually, but that trust had run out.

"Kurt, I-" Xavier started but Kurt wouldn't let him apologise as he shook the disc in his hand to emphasise his point.

"This is a copy of the flight recorder data from the jet; you had us archived all of our flights in the basement." Kurt said every word but Xavier had already scanned his mind; he didn't need to explain, just express himself. "The date on this disc is the same day I found out that Mystique was my mother." Kurt looked between Xavier and Rogue, neither of whom would make eye-contact with him. Xavier started asking the wrong questions.

"What even made you go looking for-" Kurt's frustration increased.

"Logan flew to Germany that morning before I met with Mystique, before I knew who she really was!" He looked first at Rogue. "Did you know he went there?" He asked her. Rogue could barely make eye contact.

"Not at the time, Kurt." It was the truth. He jumped to Xavier.

"You gave Logan the co-ordinates while we were in class, how did you get them? You didn't get them from Rogue's dream." Kurt raised his voice to Xavier.

"I took the liberty and went to see Mystique that morning at your school." There was a moment silence where Kurt processed what that meant.

"You knew Mystique was my mother before she told me herself? From the dream?" Kurt asked, his voice reaching a higher pitch of disbelief. "Rogue?" She finally looked up, she couldn't hide anymore from him, he deserved to know.

"We knew it was Mystique when the Professor helped me with the dream that night." Xavier recalled how difficult it was to read Rogue's mind that night and sort through the memories, now it was impossible. "There's something else you need to know. Magneto was there too." Rogue said quietly.

"Magneto?" Kurt said with disbelief, he was utterly confused. "What was there?" Kurt question was met with silence. "What did Logan find in Germany?" He asked more urgently.

"We don't know, not for sure." Xavier tried to spare Kurt from further pain. "I'm afraid it's too subjective. I'm reluctant to-"

"Tell me what you know!" Kurt voice echoed around Cerebro. Rogue stepped closer to him.

"Kurt, the Professor can't tell you what you want to know." She hugged the Cerebro helmet tightly and sighed. "Ah should have told sooner, Kurt." Kurt's voice returned to normal, almost forgiving.

"So tell me now." Kurt half pleaded, half demanded.

Rogue breathed slowly, trying to decide where to start, she held a captive audience between Xavier and Kurt.

"Magneto has been obsessed with immortality and power for decades; you know this, Professor." Xavier nodded. "The Gem of Cytorrak in Hawaii, 'Operation Rebirth' and the chambers used by Captain America-" Rogue listed off.

"The one we destroyed in the dessert?" Kurt asked, Rogue nodded.

"Now he's obsessed with Apocalypse's technology that Nur, Apocalypse, used to advance your powers as Horsemen." Xavier remembered his discussion with Magneto on the derma chips but didn't miss Rogue's Freudian slip. "Well, he didn't stop at just those; over the years, Magneto has researched many other avenues..." Rogue's voice diminished to merely a whisper. "Includin' genetic experimentation..." Kurt felt the world fall away from him as Rogue looked at him.

"He made me?" Kurt asked shakily but Rogue was quick to respond.

"No, but he took you away from Mystique just after you were born." She clarified, though it didn't seem to make him feel much better. "He knew that you'd most likely be a mutant when he found out that Mystique was pregnant. He needed a newborn mutant for his research and as sick as it sounds; since newborn mutant babies were hard to come by, he kept an eye on Mystique and waited until she gave birth." Xavier felt nauseous at hearing how far someone that he used to call his friend would go.

"And then he kidnapped me." Kurt asked his voice monotone. Rogue nodded. The room was silent for a long time. Kurt released a shaky breath.

"What did he do to me?" Kurt asked.

"He'd made contact with a woman who was studyin' genetics." Rogue continued her story including the connected dots from a recent dream.

"Who?" Xavier asked, knowing most people in the field.

"She was goin' by a pseudonym at the time, Professor; but based on some of Magneto's memories and Janette's, Ah think it was the same person experimenting on the mutants in DC." The realisation hit Xavier immediately.

"Essex?" Rogue nodded.

"She'd been workin' with mutants and was after most of the same things as Magneto, common interests and all. She shared some of her theories with him about suppressin' and advancin' mutant genes using mutagens, harmful to humans but could be the key to power for mutants."

"Hank had similar theories, his experiments eventually led to-" Xavier added but stopped himself and looked at Kurt. Xavier started to understand why Rogue attacked Magneto so viciously when he came to the institute a few days ago.

"What?" Kurt asked, unsure of where this was going.

"Like Hank, her theories held the secrets to advancin' mutations but only physical mutations." Rogue summarised. Rogue looked pointedly at Kurt. "You were blue as a child, but you still couldn't teleport until you were a teenager?" Kurt nodded and started to feel dizzy. Kurt looked at the ground, then his feet, the tip of his tail and his fuzzy blue hands.

"He made me like this?" Kurt asked sounding so young.

"He advanced your physical mutations." Rogue confirmed. "You may not have had this physical appearance until you were a teenager, or possibly ever..." Rogue concluded sadly.

**End of Chapter 62**

_A.N. Two weeks... what was I thinking! Sorry this took so long guys, I was in Iceland and when I got back I had a few present orders to fill (I to pencil portraits on the side) but now that the Christmas season is over there shall be more time to type._**  
**


	63. Chapter 63

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 63**

It was later in the evening before she was ready. Xavier had spent most of the time since she had left him working on the mental blocks on almost everyone in the Institute. Now, if the Phoenix came calling on anyone, he should pick up on it. Kurt didn't talk to her for the rest of the day; he said he needed space to think. She didn't blame him, she should have told him anything she had learnt the moment she had learnt it.

Rogue thought back to her dreams, the fragments of memories that she was picking up from people in her mind while she slept; she knew Xavier's theory would work, but the thought of getting to know all of the personalities in her mind so well, she was afraid she'd loose herself in the process. She had enough memories to easily outlive Xavier and Logan and that was only the memories that were fresh from when she absorbed the person or the memories she had found to activate someone's powers. The rest of the lives she had absorbed she pushed away not wanting to be overwhelmed, but that was a mistake, one of many.

Rogue didn't want to be so intimately aware of everyone in her head but she knew she wasn't doing this for herself, there was a bigger picture and she had already picked her first goal; Sinestre.

She had a very familiar feeling towards Essex though she had never met the woman before in person. Janette only saw the women as an evil witch, Eric saw her as an exotic genius, ruthless but genius. But there were more, someone else in her mind knew her in a very painful way. Rogue knew something for sure, Essex took Angel and now they can't find him using Cerebro. This was his last chance to be found.

Rogue exhaled soothingly and closed her eyes as she placed the Cerebro headgear over her head and sat cross legged on the floor.

"This is gonna be different." Rogue said to the room.

"Yes, Rogue. Now, you must concentrate." Xavier voice replied from somewhere behind her.

"How do you suggest Ah start?" She asked.

"Start with my powers, activate them and use them to navigate your way through the personalities, it will help you to distinguish between what are your memories and what are theirs." Rogue understood, at the lake she was reliving first hand other people's memories to activate their powers but then those memories now felt like hers, this way she just needed to playback and run through the memories to make sure there were no more major surprises and repressed memories that would catch her off guard at some point in the future.

Rogue concentrated on Xavier and on his voice. She recalled his moment, now hers, when his power of telepathy activated.

"Ah'm ready." She told him.

"Good." Xavier replied. "Who shall we start with?" He asked her.

"Let start with the new girl in the class," Rogue replied drolly, Xavier and Rogue got to work.

oOo

He jumped in through the broken roof window and landed with an elegant roll almost twenty feet below on the hard concrete. There were a few odd looking plants scattered around the room most of which looked like large Venus fly traps, carnivorous. There was a musty smell in the room that he associated with disuse.

He cursed silently. It was another dead end. His informant was right though, she was here at some point but there was nothing left, she had traded in for new digs. He wandered about the room briefly in a vain hope of gaining more information or clues as to her new hideout.

oOo

Rogue gasped and panted. It had taken an hour but she'd done it, she had relived Jan's life but at a highly accelerated pace thanks to Xavier's powers and it was an emotional rollercoaster. She had seen everything from infant years all the way to when she had absorbed her in the basement. Most of it was a nice life; a loving family and a baby brother that adored her, good friends, doing well in school, first loves and falling in love. Parts of it were hard to bear witness to; bullying in the playground, hiding her brother's mutation, the general self loathing of growing up as a teenager, the death of her housemate, the heart break...

Rogue pulled off the helmet and wiped hot tears off of her face with the sleeve of her shirt. As soon as the material touched her face she got flashes of the life she just viewed. Someone caressing her face gently, a kiss, soft and another passionate and more. Rogue felt new tears falling. She had always hated the physical limitations of her powers but the endless parade of people in her mind who didn't even appreciate the slightest touch of another person, a hug without fear; it made her angry that she would never be able to witness it for herself and that instead she would live with seeing things through other's eyes and other's emotions, having other people's memories that she didn't want stuck in her head-

"_Are you alright?"_ Logan's voice came through the intercom. She looked up from the centre of the Danger Room at Logan in the control room who had been watching her. _"Kid, are you alright?"_ She looked at him with pure determination.

"Ah'm fine." Logan nodded and Rogue put back on the helmet and closed her eyes to resume.

She now knew everything about this girl that should be a stranger to her, it was a horrible violation to know so much about someone but Rogue now felt affection towards the girl, she understood her and that was the control she was looking for.

"Rogue," Xavier spoke to her, "You should take a moment. Living someone else's life, even as quick as that, can be upsetting."

"Ah said Ah'm fine." Rogue said crossly.

"I'm only here to help, Rogue; to guide you." Rogue released a shaky breath.

"Ah know, Professor, and Ah'm sorry, but Ah am sick and tired of chasing my tail on this; Ah need answers." Rogue half apologised to him.

"Very well." He accepted her answer. "But why him?" Rogue didn't hesitate to answer.

"He knows or knew Essex." She said with a shrug.

"I must warn you, there may be undesired consequences of getting to him so well." He told her. Rogue grew a little cautious with a frown.

"Like what?" She asked.

"You might start to like him." Xavier said with a hint of grin in his voice. Rogue huffed.

"Ah doubt that very much." She took no heed to his warning and resumed, first focussing on Xavier's powers, then Magneto's persona.

oOo

"That's dark..." She let out a long whistle of respect. "Like, majorly dark." She wasn't sure what else she could add to that. "The least she coulda done was tell you before now." Kurt nodded.

"Ja." He stood on the edge of the railings of the Gazebo. "They all could have." He thought of Magneto, Mystique and the Professor as well as Rogue.

"How are you taking it, Blue?" Tabitha asked. Kurt confided in her because she was always easy to talk to, plus she cornered him and wouldn't leave him alone until he told her what had gotten him down. She said it's a friend's job to be a pain in the behind. Kurt shrugged with a bit of an unexpected grin.

"If I had grown up looking normal, you would have had to come up with a different nickname for me." Tabitha jumped up from her seat.

"Or, I'd be calling you blue anyway." Kurt agreed they had no way of knowing when he would have mutated. "Besides, this way you only remember being like this;" She gestured to all of him, "Think how strange it would've been to just wake up one day with a tail!" Kurt laughed reluctantly.

"Ja, and slowly turning blue and fuzzy." Tabitha laughed with him.

"I think the teen years are hard enough without all that extra drama!" She barked out between breaths as they both almost fell over laughing. It took them a while to control themselves and the moment became serious once more.

"It just feels like a violation," Kurt said while shrugging uncomfortably in his skin, "Why did he do that to me?" He let the question hang in the air never expecting an answer. He was still standing on the railing looking out on the water; she was standing next to him but on the ground level and looking out at the same. Tabitha stood there with him for a long time.

Eventually, she turned around and leaned her back over the railing to look at him. She stared quietly until Kurt started to feel self-conscious.

"What is it?" He asked. She smiled up at him.

"I always thought that you rocked the fuzz and the pointy ears, Blue." She didn't give him too much time to let that get to his head; she bounced off the railing and held out a hand. "Now, let's rejoin the party." Kurt hopped off the railing and took her hand. He pulled her into a quick one-armed hug and teleported them back to the mansion.

oOo

_He stepped in to the warehouse and his eyes immediately went to the unconscious bodies of his Acolytes. Gambit was at his feet, Pyro, Colossus and Sabretooth spread out on the floor space. There weren't many people that could take out all of his team in one go. _

"_Rogue..." His eyes went to a fifth body lying unconscious in the room, a second Gambit. He didn't have enough time to even react before the Gambit at his feet transformed into Rogue, she had been using Mystique's powers. Rogue's hand touched his face and everything went black... _

"It's a start, Rogue. But these were the fresh memories when you absorbed him. You must go much deeper than this to get control." Rogue took in a sharp breath and did as Xavier told her. Rogue dived back in guided by Xavier so that in seconds, months of memories were flying by.

_He had followed Gambit to the Worthington mansion, he waited patiently for Gambit to steal what he was ordered to steal then he captured Mesmero. He ordered Mastermind to invade his mind and take the information by force. The relic was half of an item called the 'Spider Stone'. The other half resided in London, and when combined, they would form a key. A key that could potentially release the most powerful mutant the world has ever known; En Sabah Nur, also known as Apocalypse._

_Mesmero escaped his confines with the artefact, there was only one possible place he would go with it. Eric was resolute that this mutant, if indeed the most powerful the world has ever seen then he would certainly have his own agenda; Eric would die before he would take orders from someone else. They wasted no time travelling to London. They arrived at the Tisdale museum, Eric magnetically knocked the front doors in. _

"_Fan out, secure the building." He ordered his Acolytes while he took the elevator to the second floor, and then took the elevator. _

_It was easy to track Mesmero, the artefact he had was like a metallic beacon. The outside was ceramic and painted. Made to look dull, but the inside; the inside was different; it was laced with layers of Adamantium. He rounded the corner and came face to face with Mesmero. He dragged forward the elevator that had been floating beside him using his powers of magnetism and chased Mesmero. _

_Mistakenly, he thought he had caught Mesmero just in time before he could combine the two halves but that notion was short lived. Magneto saw Mesmero's half of the Spider Stone lying on the floor and summoned it to him with magnetism; but unexpectedly the magnetism was turned to energy as the second half vibrated and broke out of its display cabinet from across the room to combine with its missing half as vigorously as two opposing magnets. He was too late. The, now whole, Spider Stone glowed with violent green energy. For a split second, from the fear of the unknown, Eric thought he was going to die when the blast threw him across the room and into a wall. He only lost consciousness for a few seconds, but the next thing he remembered was watching a giant glowing green spider walking out of the museum. Since it was created by a magnetic field, Eric made a last ditch attempt to pull it apart again by magnetism but it only took him along with it as it made its own exit from the museum. He wasn't going to be able to stop it. _

_Eric made it down to the street level with the Acolytes and immediately spotted Charles Xavier. He turned to his Acolytes._

"_I don't care what it takes, destroy that spider!" He straightened out in anger and checked his badly bruised arm for movement making sure that nothing was broken._

"_Stop, Magnus! We don't know anything about it!" Charles ordered him._

"_I know enough, that is one key that will not be unlocking any doors!" Eric shouted back as he flew off after the creature. Gambit had managed to slow it down, and considering he was the only one his Acolytes to manage that, it put Gambit in a favourable light. _

_The spider emerged from the bus wreckage and Eric put his two hands against its head with the strongest magnetic fields he could produce. He did not heed Xavier's warning and focussed on destroying it. He forced the energy of the spider back into the stone with great difficulty and then, like the magnetic wave from a nuclear bomb, he pulsed a shockwave through the stone between his two hands to kill all remaining electrical energy stored in it. There was nothing mystical about it, it was simply a machine but it contained technology he had never seen before. Eric fell to his knees and hands panting as he dropped the stone on the ground. _

"_You've done the very thing Mesmero wanted." Charles told him but Eric shook his head. He didn't want to hear. _

"_No." He said with a pant as Colossus helped him to stand. "The key," He shrugged the Russian off, "Has been destroyed." He said resolutely. _

"_And he knew that only you had the power to do it." Eric's eyes widened; Charles had read Mesmero's mind. Eric started to feel unwell. "That wasn't just a key, it was a guardian designed to prevent Apocalypse's release and with its destruction, the second door will now open. He used you, Magnus, from the beginning." Charles informed him further of his failure, he must have enjoyed being witness to it. Eric acted rashly, but had it been a key designed to open the door, at least he and his could stop it, which was more than what Charles and his X-men could accomplish._

She went further back before this failing and saw Eric's desire to make mutants public to end the shameful hiding by the planned attack on the X-men. Wanda, being saved by Pietro. Rogue moved on, soon she was Eric forming the Acolytes...

"_Where are my family?" The large man asked him. Eric floated above him. Piotr Rasputin was strapped to a chair, his eyes closed, talking to himself. Mastermind stood behind him, planting memories. The Russian was a simple man from a rural area; he had no incentive to join him so Eric created one. _

_Eric left the room, content with his plan. The world would soon see mutants for what they were, the superior species on the planet and when the time comes he would have the most powerful on his side. He had given the X-men the opportunity to join him in Hawaii and they refused; some he didn't need but others he wanted. Charles would never join him, regretfully, but he had hope for others; most notably Jean Grey and the Rogue. But Jean Grey was being held back by Xavier, it would only be a matter of time when her power alone would overthrow Xavier. And Rogue..._

_He was a fool to leave the child in Mystique's care, she was the most valuable asset the Brotherhood had; the potential for limitless power. It was very disappointing when she left in favour of the X-men. But she was young, she had yet to experience the cruelties of life. She would come to realise the truth too, that mutants were superior; she and the world would see that inevitably..._

Rogue ripped the helmet off.

"Arrogant monster!" She let the helmet hit the ground and scattered back from it like it was made of fire. Xavier's voice brought her back to where she was.

"You know, that piece equipment is very expensive, Rogue." His comment shocked her back to reality. She signalled to Logan in the control room that everything was fine and slowly crept forward towards the headgear once more. She picked it up and was about to put it back on her head but stopped and held it down on her lap. She turned her head and talked into her shoulder.

"He only ever saw me as a weapon." She said to him. It's not like she thought that Magneto ever had warm fuzzy feelings for her, in fact that would be disturbing, but he didn't even see her a person, just as a thing he wanted to collect. "He's so far gone down this path of righteousness that he had stopped thinking about mutants as people. He's as bad as everyone else."

"And you need to see why." Xavier replied. Rogue groaned petulantly and put the helmet back on.

It took her hours to get further back. Past the Rebirth Chambers, past Hawaii. His steel heart of abandoning Wanda at the mental institution with Pietro bearing witness, but she had become too difficult for him to care for and maintain his pursuit for world domination. In his eyes, he was doing the best thing for Wanda and for the world by leaving her there.

She felt sick when she had to face Mystique's presentation of an opportunity to him. She told him that Destiny had a vision, of a mutant child that could eventually hold in her hand the power of every mutant she touches. It wasn't long before Magneto suggested for Mystique to legally adopt the four year old that featured in her vision.

Then she was in Germany...

_Eric felt like he had learned something from the experiment but it did not have the desired result. He wanted to bring power forward, not just physically mutations. He convinced himself that he had simply tried it out on the wrong child. He stared at the screaming baby and walked away trying to decide what to do with it. The baby would have to be raised in secret. Then Mystique came and took him, she was frantic and emotional; she would tell everyone what he did. Magneto could see all chances of convincing other mutants to fight by his side slipping through his fingers, so he chased her. She could not keep the baby as her proof, but the wolves found her first. The baby fell into the gorge. Mystique cried for him but Magneto accepted the child's fate, it was for the best. He left Mystique on the bridge to grieve..._

_Eric grew obsessed. He wasn't old but he was getting older. He went there seeing if there was anything to learn that would assist his quest for eternal youth and limitless power. That was where he had met Charles Xavier for the first time; although Charles had a much more advanced understanding of genetics than he had. He was surprised when Charles had brought up the subject of mutants before he did, but once he had learned of his powers of telepathy, everything became clear. As soon as they had established that they both had special powers, he requested that Charles would not read his mind; and he obliged._

_The lecturer had been interesting, she focussed on ways to reverse aging of cells and even suggested the possibility of mutating cells and even enhancing cell function. There was something about the lecturer that didn't sit well with Charles, but Eric found her to be captivating. He introduced himself to her as Magnus Maximoff. Her name was Claudine Renko..._

Rogue gasped again, and signalled to Logan.

"_What is it, Stripes?"_ His voice came over the intercom. Rogue looked up at him.

"Get Hank and Kitty to find out everythin' they can on a Dr. Claudine Renko; see if there's a link to a Dr. Natasha Essex, specialisin' in genetics!" She shouted up to him. "It may be our last hope to find Angel." Logan nodded to her.

"I remember her, her ideas were radical. But the only way to prove them was to sacrifice people, and morality." Xavier told Rogue. Xavier's voice had changed.

"Did you read her mind?" Rogue asked as she settled back to continue exploring.

"No." Xavier replied. "She was considered a colleague in the field of Genetics; I was, at the time, more concerned with my own personal ethics on plagiarism." Xavier replied sadly and regretfully.

"Pity." Rogue replied, he could have prevented what had happened to Kurt had he been more liberal with his gifts.

"She..." Xavier interrupted her thoughts. "She made people uncomfortable." Rogue huffed a laugh of disbelief and tilted her head with a frown.

"Well, certainly not Eric." Rogue told him as she relived their relationship in unfortunate intimate detail. But as soon as the relationship started, it ended. Rogue moved past that as fast as possible.

_Eric was training as a doctor. He had met Mystique when she was young and impressionable. He filled her head with romantic idealistic ideas of a world where mutant's ruled supreme and didn't have to hide. He wanted that world for himself as well. _

_He learned things from Mystique; he encouraged her to be his spy. That was how he first learnt of Operation Rebirth. He had a small faction of mutants following him, though he didn't even know he was their leader. Power crept up on him so slowly, he didn't initially seek it out. _

_He tried to forget his past life and move on but there was an underlying bitterness in him from long before..._

_He had been separated from his parents for months. He was told that they were dead but refused to accept it. The ice cold rain was pouring down hard against the side and roof of the wooden shed that was supposed to be considered shelter. The windows were long gone and replaced with bars at the start of winter to increase their suffering in the over-crowded prison. He had been forced to wear a gold star, along with others of the same fate and faith, and was pushed out into the rain and forced to stand in line with the rest. Months of malnourishment had made the simple task of standing still an impossible feat; Eric faltered to his knees, and quickly had a gun placed to the bottom of his skull._

_There was no warning, their captors using any excuse to reduce the camp's population. Eric did not want to accept this to be his end. Fear and adrenaline mixed together and he suddenly knew he was meant for something greater. The gun clicked to execute him, but instead the gun back fired, destroying his would-be executioner's right hand, just as an allied plane flew close to the ground..._

_She sang to him in Polish, he was too young to remember the lyrics but he remembered how they made him feel; safe and loved. She rocked him in her arms after a nightmare, singing. His ear was pressed to her chest as the hum of the tune mixed with her heartbeat lulled him to sleep..._

Tears formed in Rogue's eyes as she took off the Cerebro helmet for the last time that day. She sighed.

"You're right, before the camp he was a sweetheart." She told Xavier, having relived his infancy and childhood in entirety. "I don't think anyone could be expected to go through that and not be affected." She heard him agree with her.

"His memory with his mother; it's one of the first memories I gleaned from him, it was why, for right or wrong, I always gave him the benefit of the doubt." Rogue nodded.

"We can't afford that any more, Professor." She said sadly as she dried her eyes. "Thank you for helping me." Rogue stood up and picked up the helmet.

Click, click, click, click.

All the weapons in the danger room moved as she stood. She looked up at the control room.

"We're done, Logan." Rogue called up. "Ah'm fine." She watched Logan press a few buttons and the guns stood down.

'_Danger Room disarmed' _A disembodied computer voice reverberated through the room.

"_Just in time, too. The Professor's lookin' for you. Didya get what you needed?"_ Logan asked through the Intercom.

"Ah got enough." She called up to him as she dusted off the helmet and checked the large empty room in case she left anything behind as she walked backwards to the door.

"_Good. Who were you talkin' to?"_ He asked her.

"Just thinking out loud, Logan." Rogue turned her back on the room and walked out the door.

**End of Chapter 63**

_A.N. Making up time here with my lack of updates! Leave a review below, it calls to you... :)_


	64. Chapter 64

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 64**

Rogue walked to the multimedia room after returning the helmet to Cerebro. She decided that her session had been very productive, it was a good start. She wouldn't describe it as pleasant to be so familiar with people but she was hopeful that this method would work for her and give her the level of control she would need to face Jean or her own inner demons.

Logan walked with her to the room. She gave him a quick update on her progress.

"So, the Spider Stone..." Logan asked at the end of her summary, "Coincidence or...?"

"Did Forge build that too?" She asked as her answer and shrugged her shoulders. "The Spider Stone was supposed to be a guardian to prevent Apocalypse's release, until ol' Bucket Head stopped it." Logan growled low. "But there were Adamantium circuits in it, same as the Eye of Ages, the derma chips..." Rogue looked up and saw where they were. "Maybe we should talk about this later..."

Logan didn't push it but he had witnessed a marked improvement in Rogue, she talked about things like they really were her memories with clarity; for Magneto at least the fragmentation was gone. He nodded.

They entered together and met Hank and Xavier working hard on the search. Xavier was the first to greet them.

"Claudine Renko," Xavier exclaimed initially, "That is a name I haven't heard in a long time." He added. Obviously he had joined Hank and Kitty in the search for information after Rogue's message, however, Kitty retired not long ago due to the late hour.

"How long, exactly?" Rogue asked, Eric wasn't very good at remembering dates, times and places and she was yet to have gone through Xavier's memories in detail as he suggested.

"About twenty to twenty five years ago, I think." Xavier recalled. "She was a guest lecturer at Columbia. I hadn't heard much of her at the time, and I haven't heard anything since but I do remember her, her ideas were-"

"Radical?" Rogue finished for him.

"Yes, they were only theoretical and could not be proven without experimentation." Xavier informed them. "But her research wasn't for any 'cure all' drug, it was to play with people's DNA. No government body would in their right minds authorise such tests and anyone who would admit to carry out such experiments would be arrested for endangering human life."

"Except the ones that knew about mutants." Logan's mind flashed back to Weapon X and Laura and DC.

"So, what? You think she disappeared and went underground back then?" Rogue asked the Professor.

"It's most likely, and based on the rumours that Gambit told us about-" He concluded.

"She went south to Louisiana." Rogue finished.

"Gambit said it was about twenty years ago that there were a lot of disappearances in the area." Xavier added to which Rogue confirmed. Hank joined in the conversation.

"There's no online history of events or timetables at Columbia; the internet wasn't in use then. Whatever's been archived since was of higher priority, I imagine." Hank told them. "But I do have something." All eyes went to Hank as he brought up a scanned document on the screen. "While reading the report that Laura gave me from DC, I did recognise some theories. She left out citations but I used this logic before when trying to control my own mutation."

"You mean suppress it." Logan corrected; Rogue elbowed Logan in the ribs for his comment. Hank took it on the chin but carried on regardless.

"When studying for my degree I read a paper. It gave me ideas and that's when I started my experiments." Hank filled them in. Rogue was starting to think that the notion of testing on people was becoming infectious. "On me, no one else." He clarified for Rogue, having caught the look in her eyes. "I found that paper again when I searched under 'Renko'." All eyes went to the screen.

"'Induction of genetic alterations in mammalian cells using radiation and chemical mutagens.'" Xavier read the title out loud as Hank read the author's names, the second was clear on the scanned image but the first was smudged.

"Essex N, Renko C, et al. written in 1975..." The room went quiet.

"Rogue, you're sure-" Logan started but she interrupted.

"Ah'm sure, Logan." Rogue stated definitely. She saw the two names side by side as well. "Maybe she staged it," Rogue tried, "Pretended to be both people at the same time, and then changed her name when she disappeared?" She turned to Xavier. "Jan heard her call herself Natasha Essex." She said in her defence. "You remember what Gambit said, he was told the name 'Natasha Essex' by his family..." Rogue drifted off at that thought.

"Rogue?" Logan asked, snapping her back to reality.

"Jean-Luc LeBeau." She replied. "When Remy and Ah went to save him, Ah knocked out two of the Rippers, Marius and Julian Boudreaux, they'd heard of Essex as well." Rogue thought back to the family feud, to how much Marius hated Jean Luc and to how much Julian hated Remy. In fact, it was Julian that tried to find Essex once but was unsuccessful. He thought she could give him power to rival Gambit's; a deal with the devil to defeat a devil, in his opinion.

"Maybe she returned to Louisiana?" Hank suggested.

"No." Logan answered. "She's stayed off the grid this long, she's not about to go back to places where she might be known." Rogue had to agree, the woman was smart.

"She could hide out in any major city and pretty much go unnoticed." Rogue added sadly. Still, Rogue had a very familiar feeling towards Essex though she had never met the woman before in person.

"We're not going to learn much more tonight." Xavier interrupted her thoughts. "Hank, you're going to visit the Morlocks in the morning, yes?" Hank nodded.

"The cure for the poisoning, it seems to have been successful in reversing most of the damage. Evan, Ray and I will bring some to them tomorrow to administer." He informed them. Logan thought about Hank's personal definition of successful.

"Any side effects?" Logan asked the Beast. As pointed out earlier, Hank's cure wasn't strictly legal.

"Unfortunately, it's too soon to tell but Evan feels it's better to give them the option now while we can. Since the news broke of the Registration Act he's afraid they'll disband or relocate." Hank explained, Rogue understood; it wouldn't be long before people would be knocking their door down to force Registration, they were already known faces.

The government hadn't unforced the Act yet but from the news and political debate shows they were making it sound like obtaining a learner's permit or something whereas the opposition where pursuing cases to get the Act declared unconstitutional. Their favourite ex-principle turned Mayor, Kelly, appeared on a more local show demonstrating a point that people were being denied work because they were mutants but when asked to register, they said they wouldn't. He laughed on air, telling Bayville how can someone claim discrimination without anything on paper to declare themselves as 'different'. He was making it sound so simple and light, but Rogue had seen the future, there was nothing light about it.

Rogue didn't realise she had spaced out until Logan placed a hand on her back, snapping her out of her reverie regarding things to come.

"You need to get some rest." He encouraged her out the door by the hand on her back as they were the last to leave the room. He was right; she couldn't keep using his healing factor instead of sleeping.

"Okay, but we're startin' early tomorrow." Rogue told him. "Need you ready with the big guns again in case Ah lose it." She said so casually. Logan growled again.

"I'm not sure I like this strategy, kid." For some reason, Logan wasn't comfortable pointing deadly weapons at her.

"The lake is too far away from Cerebro without a lot more accessories." Rogue shrugged. "Gotta make some effort to protect the others in case something happens. Besides, with all the powers Ah've collected, the danger room isn't gonna stop me but it might slow me down." She told him.

"Slow you down from doing what?" Rogue shrugged again.

"If something goes wrong it won't be me at the helm, Logan." Logan wasn't sure how far she was expecting him to go if she lost control, but he knew it was something he never wanted to find out.

oOo

The next morning came too quickly for some, not fast enough for others.

Storm flew high above the mansion, stretching her powers and letting the wind carry away her anxieties. Evan was returning to the Morlocks today, whether he'd stay or not was up to him and she would respect his choice, but that wasn't what bothered her.

oOo

She settled cross legged in the Danger Room, undaunted by the large weapons pointed at her head as she put on the helmet to resume her training. She was aiming to pick off the most 'low-hanging fruit' as possible during the session on Logan's suggestion. He told her to target the non-mutants first and then go youngest to oldest for the mutants. That way if Jean came calling before she had finished her training, however long it would take; at least she should have more people under control in her head.

Rogue gave Logan a 'thumbs up' signal and delved right in.

oOo

"It's pretty strange." Kitty said as they gathered for breakfast. She passed the bread to Amara who turned each slice to toast as she put them on plates.

"Yeah, I mean he's supposed to be almost an instructor. How weird would be to see Logan or Ororo locked up down there." Amara added when she finished serving toast and picked up a knife to warm it before cutting through some butter for her slice.

"You heard the Professor, Jean's messing with his head." Jubilee said in defence sitting down to the table.

"I dunno, he sounded fine when I was watching him yesterday." Bobby declared filling glasses with ice cubes. "Kept saying we've been tricked."

"Tricked by who?" Jamie asked.

"Rogue." Three of them replied in unison, Bobby, Amara and Roberto looked at each other realising that Scott was rehashing the same story to each of them.

"Why? What does he think Rogue did?" Jamie asked.

"He's just paranoid," Kitty spoke up, "He says Rogue is still working for Mystique and that she only, like, ever came here on the orders of the Brotherhood." Kitty shrank back into Piotr's side.

"And that Mystique is still working for Apocalypse and that maybe Rogue didn't really stop Apocalypse." Bobby told them all. Roberto scratched the back of his head. "Plus all the secrecy about her powers lately..."

"It's a bit of a leap." Roberto said. "I mean, two days ago Scott was grieving, now he's sounding calm but paranoid. Plus, the Professor would surely know if something was going on. We were all there when he had to help her last year with her powers?"

"Also, she pushed Mystique off ova cliff, smashin' her into a million pieces after Apocalypse was released? It's no' something you'd do if you were working for them." Rahne added.

"But Mystique didn't die, she became a Horseman..." Jamie told them and they went silent.

The silence made Kitty increasingly frustrated.

"She's, like, saved our lives, and Scott's, and Jean's, on more than one occasion and repeatedly risked her life doing it." She thought back to Rogue saving Jean from the Blob when she hadn't been at their school long, when she saved Scott from Mystique and when she helped with Jean's powers. Kitty remembered them facing the Juggernaut when they were on the run and how Rogue brought him down, yes they all fought him and risked their lives but Rogue was the only one that had to live with Cain Marko stomping around in her head. Kitty remembered Rogue facing Apocalypse with Leech's powers and more recently in Rochester when Rogue saved them while Jean was torturing her, Jubilee and Gambit. "Why would we waste our time doubting Rogue's loyalties without, like, any evidence when we know Jean is out there somewhere?" Kitty only got a low murmur of agreement, nowhere near as strong as she was expecting. She looked at everyone with disbelief. "Jean murdered Alex!" She shouted at them as Ororo entered the room.

"What's going on?" Storm asked all of them. No one would say anything to her. Kitty looked around the table.

"You know what," She stood up, "I'm not hungry anymore." Kitty walked away.

"Me either." Jubilee added and followed Kitty. The rest of the table were left to think.

oOo

Spyke flipped up the sewer lid and Ray climbed down the access ladder with a backpack of supplies and Hank squeezed down after him. Spyke followed them letting the cover close behind him. They were plunged into darkness and Ray sparked up, illuminating the situation.

Evan led them towards the central channels where the Morlocks held up but they didn't have to wait long before coming upon someone. She saw them before they saw her.

"You mind turning down the voltage, there is a lot of water in here." Marrow called out to them from the shadows. Ray diminished the sparks to the bare minimum to a few amps between his fingers so he could see where he was going.

"Missed you too." Spyke replied to her. She laughed.

"It's only been a few days," She told him and stepped out of the shadows. "And I've been having too much fun protecting the palace to miss you." She looked at the bag that Ray had and Hank. "Why are you here?"

"We have good news." Ray told her.

oOo

He raised his head when he heard someone entering the room.

"Kurt?" He sat up on his cot. The sound of light metal sliding on a wooden surface told him that it was breakfast time. "Okay, so not Kurt." Scott said as he stood up and took three paces forward and one to the left. He put out his hand and felt the back of the chair. He pulled it out and sat down. He let his fingers walk across the surface of the table until they felt the tray of food. He felt something plastic and took it into his hands. "Still don't trust me with a knife and fork then?" He used the dull implement to assist eating.

"Harder to cut through the bandages with a spoon; take it as a challenge." Laura's voice called out to him. Scott felt the material around his eyes and the tightly wrapped cast and bandages around his head.

"Laura, last time I saw you you were jumping out of a plane attacking a Sentinel." He greeted her. "So you got the morning shift?" Scott started up idle conversation. "Do you even know why I'm in here?" He asked her.

"Don't care." She replied in a low tone.

"So you're taking orders from Xavier now?" Scott asked.

"Logan told me to watch you, not much else to do between your 'missions'." Scott smiled; he never had a chance to have a proper conversation with the mini Wolverine before.

oOo

The Morlocks lined up. Hank explained the risks and that it's only been tested on only a few extreme cases so far and that there may be unknown side effects; but there were too many that were too sick to care about side effects and wanted to be able to defend themselves again without risk. A few opted against the cure for the time being, until the side effects could be determined.

Ray helped Hank set-up and administer. Hank had to be cautious with the dosages as they had experienced chronic poisoning, not acute like his patients from DC. Callisto stood back to watch and Marrow was still rounding up a few stragglers to make sure they came out of hiding to avail. Evan approached Callisto.

"Caliban hasn't returned?" Spyke tried to sound nonchalant but it didn't work. She eyed him up and down with her one good eye.

"No." She replied monosyllabically.

"Cal?" He tried again.

"You can't come back, Evan." She told him without looking. He couldn't raise his voice so instead he walked off. Callisto waited a moment before following him. He had gone down a ways before Callisto caught up with him. Quickening her step she came up behind him. She grabbed his arm and yanked him back making him turn to face her. He turned and grabbed the back of her head roughly. There was a slight hesitation on both sides before they drew together in a fiery and passionate kiss.

A moment passed before Callisto broke the contact and shoved him away. Evan stood tall and composed himself.

"Why then?" Evan asked, a little out of breath.

"You haven't learned anything have you?" She asked him, and shook her head disappointed in him. "You're not even planning on taking the cure?" Evan eyes deflected from her for a second.

"I don't see you lining up out there either?" He shouted.

"That's different." She turned away from him.

"How?!" He exclaimed. She snapped her head around.

"My powers don't pull on my energy the same way yours do! I'm not slowly killing myself!" She yelled at him.

They both allowed a minute to pass before speaking again, to let their tempers cool.

"I'm afraid." Evan confessed. Callisto stared at him in shock at his admission. "Afraid that my powers are only at this level because of the poison. I wanted to wait, wait until I saw what happened to other people's powers." Callisto came closer to him.

"I can't in good conscience let you come back until you've taken it." She told him. "You'll burn out and you will die." Evan clenched and unclenched his jaw.

"I'll make you a deal," He told her, "when you've taken it, I will." Callisto almost marched out there right there and then but she knew she couldn't. Some of them had to stay drug free in case the others had a reaction.

"Fine." She said through gritted teeth. "But I'm not going to wait for long." She stepped away from him and walked back out to the others.

oOo

This was it, he was sure this time. The thugs at the door confirmed it. He walked straight up to them. The rave music was pumping through the doors behind them.

"Bonjour," He greeted them. "Ah'm here to see the lady o' the house." The two bouncers looked at each other first before nodding and letting through the first door into the shadows and flashing lights of the club. He straightened his coat and walked past them. As soon as the door closed behind him he was grabbed.

One of his arms was pushed up behind his back and someone gripped his neck, shoving him through the crowd. His face smacked into a door on the other side of the room. He was pushed through the door into the black room and accosted by another group designed to manhandle him.

His hands were being tied behind his back immediately and he was fleeced from head to toe. He felt his cards being slipped out of his pockets and his bo-staff being taken from him. His trench coat was wrenched off of his shoulders and yanked over his tied hands to cover them. He felt another layer of ropes being tied over them. He confirmed one thing; they knew who he was and that suggested that he was on the right track.

"She's here, then." Gambit stated to the figures apprehending him. "Take me to her." He demanded. They waited a moment, getting permission probably. A door twenty feet away opened a fraction; a thin slit of light illuminated the dusty wooden floor he stood on. He was pushed forward and stepped through into the blinding light.

He had to blink in the brightness of the adjoining room as a figure approached him and started to take shape.

"My boy!" She greeted him with her throaty accent.

**End of Chapter 64**

****A.N. Welcome the return of the Ragin' Cajun! Something dark is a foot. Any shockers? Leave a review, monosyllabic/emoticon reviews also welcome! XD ~Rí


	65. Chapter 65

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 65**

Ray drove the X-van back to the mansion with Hank in the front passenger seat. They had stayed as late as possible to be present in case of any strong adverse reactions to the drug; if too strong they would need to bring them back to the Institute for further treatment. Hank had hoped to convince more to take the drug but they refused. He understood why but he told Callisto to let them know if they planned on moving on or if anyone else wanted treatment, including herself. She wanted enough of them to stay 'sober' to mind or protect the others that took it until they had recovered fully.

What surprised him the most however was that Evan did not stay behind. He told Hank not to get his hopes up; his place was still with the Morlocks but that he needed more time. Evan sat in the back of the X-van, he stayed very quiet.

oOo

Kitty phased her way through the ceilings and walls to get to the hallway, she was a little early but she was avoiding the others in the Institute. She phased her way through the second last door that led to where he was being held. She was just outside the last door when she overheard them talking.

"-believed in what she was doing, you wanted revenge too for what they did to you and to that girl, Ester." She heard Scott whispering to whoever was guarding him. Kitty leaned closer to the door to hear more. She strained to hear anymore from them, it was very quiet in there, she was starting to think that Scott was talking to himself.

Suddenly, the door was wrenched open and she came face to face with Laura. Laura looked at Kitty, not with surprise but with something else entirely. Kitty swallowed.

"It's, am, my turn to-" Laura didn't even let her finish her stutters before she pushed past Kitty and walked away.

oOo

The floor split in random places and the lights above her head exploded. She caught sight of a giant weapon pointed at her, heating up to fire. She squinted at it and the first gun exploded and collapsed on top of another, destroying that too in turn. The remaining giant metallic guns turned to follow her as if they were being controlled by an unknown force.

"Where are you?!" She screamed as she looked around frantically for her father. The nearest gun shot a blast of red light at her but she deflected it to the corner of the room. Steel walls popped up all around her as if by magic and created a maze. "Show yourself!" She screamed as another gun popped up over one of the walls. Blue energy grew fierce in her hands and she threw it towards the weapon. The gun exploded into shards but she was protected by her magic. She walked around the maze turning each corner as it came. "Father!" She screamed.

"He's not here." A man's voice surrounded her but it wasn't in her head. "You're in the Danger Room in the Xavier Institute." She paused thinking it was a trick, did they drug her and move her to another asylum? She started to run around the corridors of the maze as everything went dark; only a few glowing red lights allowed her to make out a few shadows. Something was knocked off of her head and it rolled away behind her. She didn't have time to look back to see what it was. She thought that someone had called out her name when she was grabbed roughly from behind. Two large arms surrounded her and tried to constrict her with crushing force.

Her blue magic shot out and another gun rose up as if from nowhere to shoot her attacker in the back. He swore and reeled back lifting her off the floor then he let go of her on reflex. Her feet had started running before they had hit the ground and she stumbled into a frantic pace. She had to feel her way around due to the darkness. At the speed she was going she almost ran into the walls around her. Unavoidably, she did hit a metal wall but this one was warm and grabbed her by the wrists, spinning her around so her back was against his chest.

"Get outta here, tin man!" Someone shouted in the darkness as she lit up her hands with blue energy. She focussed on the man holding her and surrounded him with her magic. She felt his hard metallic skin shift back to normal skin behind her. She released another blast of energy towards him to knock him back but as she did so the metal wall next to her exploded. Her magic didn't protect them. It knocked them both over. A sharp and sudden pain shot up like a bolt of electricity through her leg and up her body. The red hot pain was unrelenting and she realised she was trapped under debris. She tried to get out from under the pieces of wall that had fallen on her, trapping her leg.

The first man shouted at her again. She blasted the piece of wall off of her leg but it was hurt badly. The other man that had grabbed her lay next to her, he wasn't moving. A name reverberated inside her head but it didn't make sense. The first man was so close now she could hear him breathing next to her. He tried to move her but her leg was broken. She screamed reluctantly. He left her along and pushed debris off of the other man and ascertained if he was breathing. He came closer to her again and she scrambled back from him in fear but she couldn't move too far, her leg was too causing her too much pain and she started to feel faint.

"Get away from me!" She screamed but he wouldn't listen. "I won't go back! Don't put me back!" She cried and she tried to move again but couldn't because of the pain. She grabbed her leg and hissed; when she removed her hand from her leg and saw blood on it and the gloves she was wearing. The bone break was severe as evident from the bone protruding her uniform. Her thigh was bleeding heavily. The feral looking man refused to desist.

"Come on, kid!" He looked between her and the other man. "Heal!" He shouted at her.

She looked back at the stranger with nothing but fear. She was going to bleed out and he was just shouting at her. He quickly knelt over her.

"No!" She screamed as he grabbed her face with his bare hands and for Wanda, the world went dark as others watched and waited.

oOo

_A few moments earlier..._

He watched her quietly from above. She stayed deadly still, most of the time. Occasionally she would move when she was facing strong emotions. He could hear faint whimpers from her with his powerful hearing or an occasional comment to herself when trying to understand troubling matters. Very rarely he watched her suppress laughter but she was given away by her shaking 'X' symbols on her shoulders. It was strange to watch. All Logan could do was stand guard for signs of trouble and think about what may come.

Xavier rolled in later to observe. Rogue hadn't required his assistance yet but seeing as she was using Cerebro he decided that he was already assisting her and in a more confidential manner with respect to everyone she had touched.

"How is she doing?" He asked Logan, who he knew had stayed with her all day. He saw that the weapons pointed at her were armed and ready to fire. It made him uncomfortable.

"She took a break a few hours ago but she's getting through them a helluva lot faster than she would have without Cerebro." He informed the man. Logan continued his progress update. "She's finished with all the random strangers she's touched over the years and the few kids from her school including that kid Mastermind took with him. She's been focussing on the Brotherhood for the rest of the day, and she's almost finished with them." One part of that was news to Xavier. He wheeled forwards knowing of the two mutants that Mastermind took to the future, Rogue had only touched one of them.

"I drove Webber Torque's personality out of her mind last year..." And then Xavier thought back to when he was in the hanger with Rogue before she had taken a team to Rochester. He thought that Apocalypse had wiped all personalities from her mind but those she listed off as personas who knew how to fly the helicopter were from well before that, but of course now that he thought about it, he was surprised he hadn't returned to that line of inquiry. She was openly using so many other personalities he had simply failed to return to the question. Apocalypse didn't wipe them, she retained everyone but even when he wiped her mind she had retained the personalities.

Logan didn't respond initially. Xavier looked at him for a response but he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't take." Was all Logan had to say in response in the end. Xavier looked at Rogue. She had all the personalities and more from the last time she lost control. No wonder she insisted on the weapons being point at her; if the last time she lost control was to be taken as 'critical mass' for Rogue, she was far beyond that now.

"Who is she working on now?" Xavier asked.

"Wanda Maximoff." Logan answered. Logan was nervous. Wanda's power was one she hadn't tried to access before. He thought that going about it this way would make it less dramatic than how she went about accessing Mystique's powers or his.

Kra-Ka BOOM!

He was wrong.

oOo

_A few moments later..._

Logan collapsed over her, his hands still touching her face. She felt new memories flow into her, most of which were very familiar but there were a few new ones from the last few weeks. Rogue pushed him partially off of her and away like he burned as soon as she realised what was happening. He fell on his side next to her. The healing factor kicked in automatically; the bones in her leg snapped back in place and she screamed.

"Rogue!" Someone shouted. She got her breath back and called back to them.

"We're over here!" She shouted out and saw Piotr laying unconscious a few feet away from her. She pushed Logan off of her completely and crawled over help Piotr as her leg finished healing. She checked him over for injuries and saw a large bump on his temple already starting to form.

"Rogue!" Someone called again a bit closer. The walls were making it difficult for the others to find them.

"This is ridiculous." She muttered and summoned Magneto to the forefront of her mind with great ease. Her eyes glowed yellow and the metal walls collapsed back into the floor revealing Roberto, Bobby and Sam only twenty feet away from her. She got to her feet. "Piotr's hurt." She told them, Sam and Roberto rushed forwards, only Bobby hesitated.

"Rogue?" He asked her looking between her and Logan and Piotr's still bodies. She furrowed her brow.

"It was an accident." She said though she didn't exactly remember what she had done to Piotr. But Bobby was staring at her, he made her feel uncomfortable. Sam was staring at her too. "What are you lookin' at?!" She asked, in an annoyed voice.

"Rogue, are you hurt?" She started at him with a question on her face until Sam's eyes flicked to her legs and hands. They were still covered in blood. There was a pool of it on the ground between the two men and trails dragged between them. It looked like a horror film scene.

"Ah'm fine, Sam." She told him dipping her head apologetically. Sam looked at her for further explanation but she didn't go in to any more detail.

"Bobby, make a gurney." Roberto ordered him. Bobby left her and pointed his hand at Colossus. Ice formed from the ground up, raising Piotr up with it. He fashioned ice sleigh legs for it and froze the ground between them and the door.

"Ah can just teleport him to-" Rogue started but was cut off.

"You've done enough." Bobby replied harshly as Roberto and Sam pushed Piotr out of the door.

"Bobby!" Xavier chastised him from the doorway. Bobby had the decency to look ashamed in front of Xavier and walked over to him. When he got closer Xavier further clarified his point. "All students at this Institute are here to learn how to control their powers, Mr. Drake. Some do not have the luxury of being able to train without significant risk." He lowered his voice further. "I hope you will keep that compassion in mind when you are next in need of assistance with your powers."

Bobby apologised to the Professor but he didn't say anymore to Rogue and left to follow the others. Xavier approached Rogue who was currently kneeling next to Logan. With Logan's powers at the forefront of her mind Xavier thought it very likely that she had heard the exchange between him and Iceman, but if she didn't she didn't say anything. But he did notice that she looked sad. She was trying to get Logan to wake up by tapping his shoulders.

"Thanks, Professor." She said sadly. Xavier looked down at Logan and then to her for her assessment. "Ah don't know how long he held on for, but he usually bounces back fast enough, unless Ah've stabbed him through the chest which," She looked him over for wounds or drying blood, "Ah didn't seem to do today." She was grateful for small mercies.

"What went wrong?" Xavier asked her. Rogue looked at him very seriously.

"Ah should've tried Wanda's powers before now." She admitted. It had always been one that she meant to come back to. "Ah came upon the moment when she first used her powers in the asylum and she took me by surprise." She felt her words were very accurate.

"Has that ever happened before?" She nodded.

"When Ah learned how to access Logan's powers and Mystique, both those times were... dramatic." She added and heard a change in Logan's breathing. "But Logan always brought me back."

Rogue was disappointed with how things had gone with Wanda's powers and personality, she feared for the future. If she lost it so easily with Wanda she didn't know if she could keep it together for others. But what really made her unhappy was the last memory Logan fed into her when he touched her skin; that his last minute plan wouldn't work, it was full of frustration and doubt and fear for the others in the Institute. She couldn't begrudge him feeling that way, she had the same concerns.

"Logan said you had made a lot of progress today and completed going through the memories of more than a few personas in your mind." She eyed him looking for the question in what he was saying. "Including Webber Torque?" Rogue cast her eyes away from him, and tucked hair behind her ear.

"Yeah; Ah got through a few." She looked up when he didn't say anything for a while. Rogue was about to say something when Logan started to move. His head turned from side to side slowly as his healing factor compensated for the drain.

"Logan, are you alright?" Xavier asked him, leaning forward in his chair. Logan's eyes opened, his head was splitting like a really bad hangover but fortunately for Logan, those ailments were generally short lived.

"Fine, Chuck." Logan pushed himself up on his elbows and looked at Rogue. "Stripes?"

"Yes?" He nodded.

"Good." He was casually checking that she was back.

"Thanks." She said meekly to him. Logan managed to get up to a sitting position.

"Any time, kid; but let's try and leave it for a while." He gradually started to feel the effects of the drain as Rogue helped him to a standing position, putting an arm around his waist until he waved her off saying that he was okay to stand. Not far from him he saw the Cerebro helmet on the ground. He walked over to it and reached down to pick it up and tossed it to Rogue who caught it easily. "Ready to try Wanda again?" He asked her. Rogue shook her head sternly.

"No but Ah'm gonna anyway." Rogue replied and looked around for a good spot to settle, forgetting the debris around her.

"Is that wise?" Xavier asked, looking from one to the other always on the side of caution. "Perhaps you should sleep and start again in the morning?" Logan cracked his neck.

"She just used my healing factor; she should be good 'til dawn." He told the other man as Rogue settled. Like when she lost control of Mystique, he made her stay at it until she had her under control in her mind. She expected the same from him now.

"S'okay, Professor," She put the helmet back on. Xavier accepted that they were okay to continue through the night with the training. He left them so they could work in, what he hoped would be, peace.

oOo

She went back and forth from the bench top tools that she had spread around the room. She took samples out of the refrigerators, the frozen cell banks and the incubators. She had another set up running away in a fume hood and rats running around in cages. Laptops were open and she was writing things down furiously. The silence was starting to get on his nerves.

"Where did ya get all o' dis stuff?" He asked her, he felt the grip tightening on his arms. "Yellow pages?" He received a punch to his ribs for his comments. She ignored it however, but did acknowledge his presence.

"You've come to visit me at a very exciting time, Monsieur LeBeau." She told him. Gambit was being held up to face her by two of her bodyguards. He had been beaten badly since he was first brought to see her. "After many wasted years, my research has finally delivered something useful." Gambit wished his red on black eyes were capable of throwing daggers at her back.

"Ah heard; you got more people to be your lab rats in Washington, actually met some o' them." The side of his face had swollen up, every word was painful. "Missin' one, though." He added. "Where's Worthington?"

"Which one?" She asked him with a grin as she looked through a microscope.

"De one wit' the wings." He replied with a pinch of impatience.

"Oh, him?" He feigned tone of surprise. "Mr. Spears paid me very well for my work, may he rest in peace. But I'm not sure if he was able to pass on my work to Mr. Worthington prior to his untimely passing. But his son has been very useful; a lovely insurance package against the elder Mr. Worthington." She informed him.

"He ain' worth much if he's dead." Gambit replied. Her head snapped up to him.

"My child, what makes you think I would kill him?" Gambit had thoughts internally but didn't voice them.

"You got more creative then?" He asked her and she realised that that was why he came there to her, for the Angel. The beating hadn't loosened his tongue but a few minutes with her and he finally got to the point.

"Mmm," She nodded, "Tell me," She said without losing focus on her work, "How are the X-men?" Gambit realised she must have been keeping an eye on current affairs.

"Ah wouldn't know." He said; half of her ignored his response but the other half took it to mean that no one knew he was there.

"I imagine they are still grieving, yes?" Remy knew she was referring to the death of Scott's brother. "That poor boy, it's a pity really." Gambit laughed at the thought that this woman was capable of empathy.

"Why, you miss out on some DNA opportunity?" He told her, well aware of her tactics. She waved him off.

"I prefer experiments that are a little more under my control." She replied. "I do have some regrets however..." Gambit was listening with fascination as to what her regrets could be. "I would have liked to have seen the long term affects of the poison." She said clinically.

"Ah thought the whole point of callin' something a poison was that it was generally for killin'?" Gambit drawled.

"Oh, the effects are much more interesting than death." She replied, she took something out of her pocket. She walked over to him keeping whatever it was hidden; he was forced to stand straighter by the men holding him up.

"What, all o' dis time and you're gonna inject me with dat stuff now? Game over? Lights out?" She shook her head.

"No injections, you would make the needle explode." She stated practically. "But you are right," She produced a cloth, "It is, as you say, lights out." She held the cloth over his face roughly; he felt her nails digging into his face through the rag. Gambit's eyes widened as he struggled but eventually he succumbed and was forced to breathe deeply the sweet scent before everything went dark.

**End of Chapter 65**


	66. Chapter 66

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 66**

"Show me." He stood firm with his arms crossed high on his chest. The room was dimly lit from the damage earlier but in the dim blue tendrils of light slowly grew from ground like unfurling ferns. They spread around the discarded helmet in the room and soon became as thick as a meadow. Logan looked up as the magic glowed on the ceiling creating a light show. "What's this supposed to be?"

"Control." Rogue replied through gritted teeth. He could see her struggle as plain as day. He rolled his eyes.

"A pretty light show doesn't tell me you're in control, kid." He told her. "Show me real power." He demanded. Her frown deepened as she concentrated. Rogue put out her hands and pieces of the ceiling cracked and fell down with unnatural entropy. The foot wide pieces glowed with magic as they were diverted from their vertical downward fall and flew through the air at Logan. They flew directly at his head and were two inches away from hitting him when they stopped dead in mid air in front of him. Rogue squinted and the pieces burst in to dust. He remained unfazed, in fact he shook his head.

"Leave it, Rogue. You're not ready." The light vanished suddenly and she looked up at him from her meditating position on the ground.

"What?!" She replied, genuinely surprised at Logan. "Are you a few sandwiches short of a picnic or were your eyes closed!"

"Give it up, kid." Logan turned his back on her. "You weren't even tryin'." He said disappointedly. He sniffed the air. "Sun's coming up. We'll finish this later." He was almost at the door when the he was blocked by a metal wall lit up with energy.

"We'll finish this now." Rogue replied, now standing and furious. He grinned briefly before turning to face her, his face unreadable to her.

Snikt! Snikt!

Logan popped his claws out of his knuckles and waited for her to make the first move.

Rogue stepped back slowly to the centre of the room; her hands were blinding with Wanda's glowing power.

The ground between them exploded, half into dust that spread like cloud throughout the room and half into chunky debris that froze in the air at different heights. Logan ducked and manoeuvred under and around the debris and moved quickly through the dust, he knew that she was obscuring his visibility to catch him off guard and to hide herself from him.

He stopped to sniff the air, but her direction was difficult to tell from her scent alone as they had been cooped up in the large room all night, so he listened.

Her footsteps echoed all around him like they were coming from an impossible, or improbable, number of locations. He rushed towards the strongest sound and he could make out the shadow of a figure. He kept his claws out and crept up on her but just as he got closer the shadow crumbled entropically into a heap of cement dust on the ground.

Logan snapped his head around, expecting her to have snuck up behind him with the distraction but instead, a nearby panel from the wall swung out as if hinged and hit him in the back, knocking him forwards. Logan rolled with it and recovered in time to watch the suspended debris in the air suddenly moving up to ceiling height. Logan looked around but the dust hanging in the air still hid her from him. She knew where he was though.

The ground rumbled and shifted; metal panels and cement slabs popped out of the ground and flew at Wolverine. He put his claws out and sliced the first metal sheet down the middle as it came towards him, then jumped and landed on the cement slab that followed it bouncing off it with another kick and punched his claws through the next one from above and fell towards the ground. Wanda's magic glowed around him and just as he was about to hit the ground, causing him to miss.

Rogue's magic diverted him at a ninety degree angle, straight into the nearest wall. His claws stabbed the wall first lodging in deep; his face, chest and knees followed, hitting it hard. Logan shook off the concussion quickly and tried to push himself off and down from the wall but her magic was keeping his fists and claws stuck in the wall. He tried to retract his claws but they wouldn't go back in. He wrenched his arms but almost dislocated his shoulders with the force as his arms refused to move.

A discarded and formerly broken giant blaster gun that lay on the floor came to life. It started to burn with energy. Logan couldn't move and had to endure what was coming. The gun lit up and shot the opposite wall it was facing but the beam reflected and bounced off a dented panel, hitting Logan.

Logan was blasted from the wall, badly burnt and still smoking. His direction was diverted, causing him to land into the still lit up gun on the ground. He slammed into it with force. The resultant explosion was so forceful that it knocked Rogue back on her rear end from a hundred feet away, the blast echoed around the Danger Room.

Shock of the blast caused Rogue to come to her senses. Rogue's eyes widened when she realised what she had done and how far she had gone in Wanda's rage though this time, she was supposed to be in control of her.

"Logan!" She called and jumped to her feet. The smoke and dust cleared and she saw him, lying in a heap with the remnants of the weapon she had diverted him into. She ran over to him and started pulling the hot pieces off of him, some pieces she had to pull out of him. She pulled a piece of metal from the inside of his upper arm causing blood to spurt out from an arterial bleed. She swore and scrambled to cover the bleed with her gloved hands. "Logan!" She shouted his name again to see if he would open his eyes. He didn't for what seemed an age. "Damnit, Logan!" She shouted, frustrated. He coughed.

"What... got you... so angry...?" He asked as his lungs and skin healed from the burns from the explosion. She was shocked into silence for a moment unwilling to remove her hands from his arm.

"Ah wasn't angry!" She uttered her voice more tense than normal. Logan opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Yeah, right..." Logan coughed a little less as his lungs were almost recovered and his bruised ribs became less painful. Rogue was starting to think that the bleeding had stopped. "Cause normally when you're just a little annoyed you try to kill me..." Rogue watched him heal for long enough and got up to stand back from him.

"Okay, Ah'm angry! She's angry!" She threw her hands up in the air but then quickly crossed them. "It was your fault!" She yelled at him petulantly. Logan shook his head.

"I just told you to leave it for later." He told her calmly, absolving himself of blame in his eyes.

"You walked away!" She shouted with venom. "You were going to leave me here, alone! You knew Ah was struggling!" She felt hurt and tears started to come to her eyes. "He walked away and you did nothing!" She shouted at him, shocking him as well as herself as the tears started flowing freely down her face.

She turned to run; Logan had seen her cry far too many times for her own liking. He had obviously healed faster than she had realised, he had caught her before she could escape by grabbing her upper arms from behind.

Suddenly, Logan was thrown across the room by a very strong force like a kick to the chest. Rogue ran with the faint glow of the Phoenix flames surrounding her.

Logan wasted no time running after her. He followed her scent and the more obvious dented corridors to the hangar. He looked to see where she had gone but felt a rush of air and an increasing thundering sound coming from the hangar bay doors.

She was standing at the entrance as the doors parted automatically. Logan saw her use Jean's powers; no don't she would easily access any one of her other powers to take off. He couldn't let her leave without coming face to face with Wanda's demons.

He ran fast up to her, the noise of the water fall drowned the sound of his feet. He was only a few feet away from her when she put out her right arm, stretching to touch the water with her gloved hand. She had teetered to the very edge when the tips of her fingers skimmed the water. But the power of the water hitting her hand as she leaned was enough to knock her off balance and she fell forwards.

Logan reached out in time to grab her by the waist and wrench her back in against him.

"You don't get to end the conversation, Rogue!" He shouted into her ear over the deafening sound of the water. The mist was covering them both as they stood there. "And using someone else's powers was cheating!" He added for good measure. She didn't reply. "Who walked away from Wanda?!" She said nothing, he changed his tactic. "Who walked away from you, Rogue?!" Her body jerked in his arms. "Who stood by and did nothing?!" She elbowed him to let her go as the soles of her boots squeaked on the wet floor failing to gain purchase trying to free herself from him but he tightened his hold. "Who're you more angry at?" He talked behind her as she tried to wrench free. "Your brother or your father?" Her legs slipped out in front of her and she slid down his front, losing the strength in her stance but he kept her from falling. Her breathing came in large gulps.

"He loved my brother, not me!" She shouted in defeat. Logan felt her drop further down. "He loved my brother!" He lowered to the floor. He let her cry until she stopped shaking then he pulled her back around the sides of the door, sheltering them from the mist and some of the sound. She stared at his chest as he knelt in front of her; her face was full of sadness.

"You've gone through Pietro's memories, what did they tell you?" He snapped her out of her head. She sniffed as she thought about what Logan was telling her to do. She closed her eyes and thought of what she had learned the day before about the speedster.

"Pietro never felt good enough for his father." Which was strange to learn about him, considering he had expended most of his energy trying to promote himself to reveal the overcompensation for his father's benefit.

"And Magneto?" Logan stopped her from over focussing on Pietro to get her to think of Magneto. She sighed.

"He didn't have time for them, especially her. In a way, he loved them both equally by equal neglect. They were a consequence and for a while he thought they would be heirs, but he had lost faith in both of them. They were merely duties to him now." It was an odd form of closure. Rogue opened her eyes, and seemed to remember the basic fact that she wasn't them. She tried to turn her face away from Logan and made to wipe the tears off of her face but saw her hands where still covered in blood from Logan's arm. She looked at the ground instead. "This is stupid, why am Ah so upset? Ah'm not her or any of 'em." She grumbled wearily.

"You are them, Stripes. Said so yourself." Logan replied easily. "It's not enough to see the memories. You need to feel it. But you need to let the anger go. Remember that it happened, but to them, not you."

"That doesn't make it okay!" She raised her knees to her chest, hugging them to her with her back against the wall. "How can Ah live this stuff and not be angry all the time?!" She demanded to know, feeling frustrated.

"By learnin' control, which means being angry and then knowing when to let it go." He replied and Rogue figured out what he had been doing.

"You were testing me..." She stated, not asked. He nodded. She understood. "Because Wanda's unstable, easily angered..." She saw him staring at her with an eyebrow raised. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay; pot, kettle, Ah get it..." Logan nodded and sat on the ground in front of her facing the waterfall. Logan didn't want to point out the elephant in the room but he felt he had avoided saying it for long enough.

"You're getting more and more angry, kid." He told her, his voice still loud over the water, not looking at her.

"Ah know..." It was a faint omission with the waterfall in the background but Logan heard it only by his superior aural skills.

"Lotta people will try and take advantage of that..." He added. Rogue tilted her wet head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Ah know..." The sun was coming up and Logan watched the rings of light shining through the waterfall casting an orange light on him and the hangar as Rogue sat in the shadows letting the sound of the water drown out the voices in her head.

oOo

Hank rubbed his eyes and revived the computers to resume his searches from the previous day. He had given up on trying to find any more information on Renko or Essex via Columbia but he was working on an algorithm to search alumni records from major universities around the world in hope of narrowing the search. If struggling to find her now, he figured it was best to at least find out where she had been.

oOo

The smell of tobacco invaded his nose. He woke and immediately felt ill with one hell of a hangover, his head pounded and he thought if there was anything in his stomach he'd be losing it soon. His memory was a little fuzzy.

If only it had really been that good a night.

His shoulders ached as the anaesthetic started to wear off. He figured it was from being propped up the day before but as he opened his eyes he realised he was leaning out from a wall, his hands and feet were each tied behind him so that he was spread eagle. He was suspended from the ceiling by his covered wrists.

He didn't need to see her to know that she was there; he knew her brand of cigarette. The smell unwittingly brought forward painful memories for him.

"You changed your choice of anaesthetic." Gambit wheezed out, his throat rasp and raw. "You add somethin' extra jus' for me?"

"It's a new supplier." She told him, not entertaining him. He shook the chains above him that were restraining him, testing them. He noticed that she was waiting for him to talk.

"You just gonna leave me here?" He asked after clearing his throat.

"That is up to you." She said, stepping out of the shadows to see him. She wandered up to him, her arms half crossed as she held the cigarette only a few inches from her mouth. She came face to face with him, examining him through her light rimmed glasses. She took another drag and held it for a second. "You and I both know that you could have escaped at any moment since you got here," She exhaled the smoke to the side and turned taking a few steps back from him, "That you did not have to take that beating you received, you're a much better fighter than they are." She flicked ash on the ground.

"You give me too much credit, Docteur." He replied.

"You could have used your powers to escape them." She added.

"You had your goons cover up my skin." He said with bitterness. She nodded.

"You would have found a way; you don't want to use your powers." She inhaled again on the cigarette, it was nearly gone. "You sought me out, Monsieur, of your own volition. I can't help but feel that you are waiting for something or someone." Gambit liked to see that he was making her nervous, or at the very least, uncertain.

"You afraid Ah'm bidin' my time to kill you?" She laughed at him.

"You wouldn't kill me!" She took her last drag and stubbed the end of her cigarette out on the doorframe. "No, you won't risk it." She took a moment to look at him. "From your questions last night, you came here for Worthington." Gambit saw no point in lying.

"Ah'm not leavin' here without him." He promised her.

"My dear boy, you are not leaving here with him." She replied with equal confidence. She gestured to someone and two men came forward with guns. "But I very much do not want to kill you. I suggest that you come to your senses and pretend that you were never here. You should be good at that by now. And since healing rapidly from gunshot wounds is not one of your abilities," She took out another cigarette and gestured with it to the two guards to keep an eye on him, "I would suggest that you try to be a good boy." She turned to the men watching him. "If he tries to escape, kill him; unless he's come to his senses then you may bring him to me." They nodded and she left the room.

Gambit stared at the two guards watching him as he started to regain full feeling in his extremities again.

"If either o' you fine gentlemen have a deck o' cards, Ah can show you a few magic tricks." He asked charmingly, the man closest to him responded by taking the safety off of his gun.

**End of Chapter 66**


	67. Chapter 67

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 67**

Xavier entered the elevator and spotted a small set of wet footprints on the floor as he entered. He took the elevator to the basement level; he knew that Hank was already at work and that Ray was watching Scott. Piotr had a minor concussion and left the medical bay the night before after Xavier had cleared him of being in any danger. Sam, and he suspected Kitty, were checking in on him periodically upstairs. The rest of the household was stirring.

He wheeled past the Danger Room and paused to take a look in through the doors. Xavier surveyed the damage left behind by the previous night's training exercises. He sighed, and remembered to tell the other students that they will be doing their training outdoors for the rest of the week.

Footsteps alerted him to someone else approaching.

"Wolverine." He greeted the other man; Logan was coming from the direction of the locker rooms. He had wet hair and a towel around his shoulders.

"Sorry 'bout the damage, Chuck; Rogue'll fix what she can later. Me and the Russian will manage the rest." Logan tried to minimise the effect on Xavier's budget.

"How did she do?" Xavier enquired about Rogue.

"She's taking a break for a few hours, you just missed her." Logan informed him, he took a moment to carefully phrase her progress. "Wanda was not an easy one to control." Logan responded and Xavier had to agree.

"From the sessions I had with her, she was tackling a deep-seated rage." Xavier remembered. Logan could definitely agree with that conclusion.

"The kid was betrayed by the people closest to her." Logan summarised. "Of all people, Rogue can relate to that." Logan thought out loud, though he knew her empathy could become a problem; there were too many people in her head that would like to take advantage of that.

"Getting through all these memories takes a lot of strength on Rogue's part." Xavier sighed, acknowledging the girl's efforts. He thought of want she would have had to face when confronting the Scarlet Witch's personality. "Wanda's rage and paranoia..." Xavier started. Logan agreed with a hum.

"It was tough, but we got through it." Logan rubbed the towel through his hair once more before slinging it over one shoulder. "That's it for the Brotherhood at least. She still has Magneto's Acolytes and everyone here to get through, plus a few others that I'm not looking forward to, like your half brother."

"Hmm, Cain..." Xavier pondered. "Perhaps, the lake would be a better place for that session." Logan huffed in amusement at Chuck's response but grew more sombre again.

"There's a lot ahead of her. She needs to stay focussed." Logan did his best to vocalise his fears and concerns. "A few more calming personalities." He suggested with a shrug.

"Very few people are calm, Logan. In my experience, still waters can and do run very deep." Xavier enlightened Logan. He paused, staring into the danger room frowning with a mix of guilt and concern. Xavier felt uncomfortable, almost like prying by asking Logan questions about Rogue; but the girl always held so much back. Logan might have offered any information required at one point but he knew Logan's allegiance was to Rogue over Xavier ever since Alberta, and rightly so given his own actions over the past few months. He just hoped that the man would be honest with him and respect his genuine concern. "Is it helping?" Logan exhaled feeling a similar mix of emotions.

"Sounds good in theory, Chuck; takes away the element of surprise any o' those personalities has over her..." Xavier turned.

"But?" He prompted the man to say what he knew he didn't want to hear.

"Could help, might make it worse." He answered briefly and acutely. "Might make it harder to find her in the crowd..." Xavier could appreciate the effect of knowing the memories of others as well as your own, and the ever present risk of the mix becoming indistinguishable; but Logan added something to his thoughts that was even more alarming. "Or it could change her..."

oOo

The water pummelled the back of her neck, the heat slowly thawing out her numb shoulders. She rested her forehead against the cold tile and closed her eyes as she tried to adsorb what she had absorbed, sorting her reality and dreams from the dreams and realities of others...

_She was being held down and strapped into a straight jacket, wanting to be free; the thought willed itself to fruition by throwing everyone back in a burst of chaotic energy. She ran..._

_She ran, feeling the soles of her feet heating. When she stopped suddenly, the smell of burning rubber caught up with her as she showed off for her father smiling, but he wouldn't smile back; always wearing the look of passive disappointment..._

_Disappointment in herself was all she could feel, how she had lost him so completely and irrevocably. She could hold on to hope, that someday her friend would realise where his path would lead. But she had to move on, and had to focus on herself. No time for pity. _

_She grabbed the parallel bars and pulled herself up with the assistance of her physiotherapist, willing her legs to move. There had been signs of improvement with the experimental therapy she was receiving but the effects weren't lasting and only served to feed her denial of her situation. She could see into the minds of anyone, walk in the astral plane, and experience things beyond the comprehension of others; had all this made her feel so omnipotent that she couldn't fathom her body being so vulnerable and damaged? _

_Her foot gave away, with a sharp pain in her back and dull sensation in her toes. She slipped, and her body fell sideways, dropping her bent elbow over the bar at her right hand side, hitting her armpit with her weight as the other arm was outstretched to the other bar ceasing her movement..._

_There was movement in the room. Fabric rustled behind her, she turned with lightning fast reflexes and caught the older man by his neck. He wore ceremonial garments and glittering ornaments, he was important; an elder or a priest perhaps, but he had tanned skin and markings on his face of lines etched into his skin. He was frightened, but he shook his head as he choked on his words; he was trying to tell her something. He was begging her, bargaining for his life, holding up his hand begging her to listen, to see. She saw..._

Rogue gasped, inhaling some water and started coughing and breathing heavily to catch her breath. The water had run cold, her fingernails had turned blue and her pale white skin had dulled to a grey forming goose bumps. She jumped back from the water and out of the shower for a towel. Her head felt like it was going to explode with information, some real, some disillusioned but felt real and other pieces from places that could only be dreams or nightmares. She caught her shadow in the fogged up mirror and jumped back from it.

Rogue tentatively cleared the condensation off of the mirror and met her green eyes in the reflection. Unconsciously, her hand rose up to touch her cheek and she watched her reflection do the same. It was really her, not an illusion. She tried to remember her real conversations and drown out the ones that she, personally, never had but that belonged to someone else. Knowing one person so completely was manageable, it actually helped her control her powers; knowing so many more was getting harder to keep track of.

She closed her eyes and focussed on talking about her powers to people. She remembered why she was doing this, talking to Xavier in his office about her nightmares, talking to Kurt about his past in Germany, talking to Logan in the woods the day of Alex's funeral and how tired she was. Rogue remembered sitting on the grass in the dark after Alex was killed and the rawness of it all.

She was feeling guilty that she couldn't save Alex. She was angry at Mystique for building the Eye. She was disappointed that she was so harsh on Gambit for selling Forge's designs to Mystique enabling her to build the Eye, he couldn't have known, and sorry that he had left. She was frustrated that she was used again by Apocalypse to breathe life into what would become his machine. They were her feelings, of that she was sure.

Now focussed, she realised that it wasn't about her, none of it was. She found the thoughts in her head were poison that took advantage of any lapse in concentration, and she wasn't going to let them spread any further if she could help it. She had to get ready; she couldn't let it go on for much longer. She looked back at her, no longer haunted, green eyes with determination and got ready in a hurry; she had wasted enough time feeling sorry for herselves today.

oOo

He waited patiently for her, carrying the mobile Cerebro helmet casually between his arm and side like an ordinary bike helmet. A sound appeared to his right; he heard the elevator and knew it was her without looking up. Her steps were light and quick. She was marching with purpose. He looked up at her; she had showered and changed into a fresh generic X-men navy uniform, with the boots from her own uniform and a belt and gloves.

She sped up and ran past him, jumping into the air. She spun one-hundred and eighty degrees and glowed as she floated in to the centre of the Danger Room. Rogue was going to use the telekinesis of the Phoenix to repair the damage she had done throughout the night, and she was getting straight down to business this morning. Logan stood back and watched the show as Xavier appeared next to him.

They watched as the rubble on the ground vibrated and sifted back down to the foundations of the building and the large chunks of concrete knitted back together like a loose jigsaw puzzle. All sheets of metal were lifted and straightened themselves while in the air and stacked to the side for ready for placement. She examined the roof momentarily before some of the sheets of stainless flew back up and bolted and warped back in place. Rogue distributed the sheets of metal around the floor over the bare sections and repeated the exercise to secure them.

When finished fixing the walls around her in a similar manner she floated down to the ground again and let the powers of the Phoenix slowly fade. Logan greeted her with a nod, considering she hadn't acknowledged his presence yet.

"Thank you, Rogue." Xavier broke the silence as Amara and Bobby appeared behind him, ready for their training session. "It would have taken a long time to fix everything."

"Can't fix everything, Professor." She replied distractedly sensing the stares and mistrust of Bobby coming off of him in waves using the residual powers of the Phoenix. She proceeded to Logan; he handed her the helmet and she walked back to the elevator with him in toe. They were going to continue their session outside rather than risk further damage to building. She left Xavier contemplating her meaning.

Logan escorted Rogue in silence in the elevator and through the main entrance hall. She wore the same look on her face that he had learned to read in Alberta. She never noticed her long periods of silence, or if she did she never talked about it with him; but he knew the difference between her giving him the cold shoulder, being pensive or her being completely oblivious due to inner dialogue. Now, her head was talking loudly.

It took less than a minute to reach where they would be practising for the day. Logan followed and let Rogue decide her own take up position. The air was much cooler and the sky was dull and grey, partly due to the effect of the season settling in and partly due to the low pressure system Ororo had created over the area. Logan didn't want any snooping media crews or satellites monitoring the Institute while they worked outside so he requested a favour from the Weather Witch to keep an electrical storm going for the day and she had obliged.

"Who's next?" Logan squared off with her as they stood outside on the battlefield that so recently had been the scene of the Sentinels' attack and the wreckage of the X-Jet. The site had been cleared away and, despite Storm's efforts to repair the damaged plants with care and attention, the ground still bore the scars and scorch marks of that day.

"Pyro." Rogue responded. Logan cocked and eyebrow.

"That a good idea?" He asked her, he had expected her to mention one of the students at the Institute, not an Acolyte. "You're chasing Wanda with a psychopath?"

"No one's gonna be easy anymore, Logan." She placed the Cerebro helmet on, closing her eyes. "He's the only Acolyte that's not on our side; might as well get it over with." She added before starting to focus on Pyro. If she got through him, she planned to follow with Colossus and maybe Remy after, though she wasn't looking forward to going through Gambit's memories. She really did like him; it felt more wrong to snoop through his memories for some reason.

"Don't remember recruiting Sabretooth, Stripes..." Logan interrupted her thoughts with his playfully smart-ass correction. She looked at him for a second holding back an amused smirk at Logan's tone.

"Ah'm not countin' him, he's too old; so he's goin' to the backend of the list..." She stated in an 'obviously' tone that mirrored his playful one. Logan crossed his arms and pondered that as he started to patrol around her in a slow walk, his job to keep her safe from others or herself when meditating.

"Before or after me?" He asked the slightly self-centred question, half thinking that she couldn't hear him when concentrating so hard; but the question was heard and she responded in a trance, like she was talking in her sleep.

"Already covered you..." She mumbled and continued what she was doing while Logan stared, absorbing that fact.

oOo

_It was dark but he had to find his way out. He ran when they found him. A stupid mistake nearly cost him but he saw them coming and he had enough sense to know when he was out matched. He ran away, it was his fault that he was in this mess in the first place. He was good but he got carried away into the heart of the lion's den. What was he trying to prove, that he was as tough as the others? He was always getting himself into trouble but now he was careless for getting her involved too. _

_The place was old and abandoned. He heard the voices get closer. He pushed her to the ground towards a hole in the floor. He told her to hide. It wasn't long before they found him. He handed back what he took after they knocked him to the ground. One of them turned to kick him but he caused the older boy to fall with a manoeuvre he had wanted to practise on them with months; he had seen his father do it. His eagerness to practise though cost him. They ganged up on him; they called him a freak before he blacked out..._

_He woke up in his own bed. His father was there, chastising him for being careless. It wasn't an overly protective father speech; it was a speech that made him feel worthless. He was yelling, bordering on taunting him. He got up and went to escape through his window but it was nailed shut. He didn't understand what was going on. His father was in his face, still taunting cruelly. It wasn't until he called him a freak that he snapped. He balled his fist tight and took a swing at his father. His father ducked and he missed the hit but his arm continued as his body twisted, following through with a kick to the older man's head, knocking his father to the ground. _

_He stood over him panting. His father looked up, staring straight into his eyes with surprise, not at the kick, but something else entirely. He demanded to know what he was so surprised about. His father said nothing and left the room. He was fourteen then..._

The lactic acid build up in his arms was unbearable. His shoulders slumped forwards as much as his bindings allowed in his defeat.

"Bien, take me to her."

oOo

Warm metal turned to warm pale skin as she shrank and changed from her metallic form back to her every day one. She tightened her eyes shut wanting the memories to fade back like a dream; they were so strong it was overwhelming. Her family were people of few words, but caring. She felt the unconditional love that came with having such a family, and the utter heart-break from loosing them.

Rogue was left fluent in Russian and full of duty and responsibility for her family. She remembered her grandmother and the stories she told of her sons going off to fight in the cold war, of people moving her family from the village she was born in, taking her toy from her as she was loaded into the back of the truck before the village was bombed. She remembered growing up on the farm in the harsh and cold environment of Siberia. She remembered the USSR splitting.

She was disgusted that she was blackmailed by Magneto to work for him. She remembered playing and treasuring her baby sister as a child and teenager. Rogue had fully transformed back to her normal skin but the memories were so many. Rogue took off the Cerebro unit and wiped quietly at her cheeks, attempting to control the grief she felt as she knew from extra information that she had absorbed through Mystique what had happened to her sister and her family, Piotr's family...

She cleared her throat and closed her eyes trying to regain her composure. Piotr had faced a lot of hardship in his life and injustice but he was sweet, gentle and kind when it came to people in general. He had a good sense of humour, if one could understand Russian, though his English wasn't strong enough to convey the same level of wit. He was decent. She could clearly see why Kitty liked him, or at least the copy of him that she had absorbed last year.

Rogue opened her sore eyes, immediately meeting Logan's. He saw that she was back and nodded, approaching her. She glanced around quickly; they had gained a few spectators throughout the day, but they were smart enough to keep their distance or scared enough.

"That was less eventful that Pyro." He added his commentary causing her to turn her attention back to him. Rogue looked at his arm and chest where his clothes had been melted away, seeing newly healed, slightly pink skin underneath.

"Sorry again..." She said gesturing to the area on his torso that she burned violently and with joy under the influence of Pyro. He was a maniac and she didn't enjoy getting to know him so well or every club, drink and drug in Sydney through his memory and sometimes lack thereof, but at least he no longer had a hold on her by means of surprise. She looked at Logan's hair. "At least it's," she waved her own hands over either side of her hair, "evening out...?" She cringed as a further apology.

Logan growled as his healing factor slowly grew back his hair on all his singed skin while he stared at the ground. At least it had been scorched before Rogue had gone through Pyro's memories. Colossus' stroll down memory lane had only resulted in heavy foot prints on the burnt ground.

"You want to take a break?" She asked. He looked at her with a question. True, she sounded a little tired and maybe she did need a rest, but she never initiated a break before, she normally kept going until she dropped.

"You need one already?" He asked bluntly and unsympathetically but there was something she wasn't saying. She shrugged and shook her head looking a little unhappy. "Okay then." He concluded. She reached down for the helmet again. He didn't need to ask who was next on her list. Honestly, he would have preferred Sabretooth...

oOo

"So, my boy," She was preparing samples and writing notes, never stopping what she was doing while she talked to him, "why would you want to find me again?" Gambit looked around as he responded. He had been cut loose of his bindings and her employees were gone. She felt secure enough to have him left alone with her.

"Ah've seen your work." He started, catching her attention instantly as she turned to face him.

"I have done so many things; you will have to be more specific." She raised an eyebrow. Gambit was happy that he had her full attention.

"De poison." He answered. "Made a lot o' people very sick 'n' a lot o' others very dead." She shrugged.

"An unfortunate side effect." Gambit had to hold back his revulsion at the callous attitude from the woman, although it was expected since she was a true monster with a moral compass that only pointed left.

"You know, they're going to make a cure?" He replied in his easy Cajun accent as he strolled around the newly relocated lab. "Almost had it when Ah left, probably made the breakthrough already." She watched him move about, waiting. "De X-men." He finally answered his silent question. She nodded, feigning interest.

"My boy, if they think they are making a cure then they have completely miss the point." Gambit filed that piece of information away for later. She continued. "Are you here to sell me something?" He could tell from her tone that she was just humouring him, trying that act wouldn't work.

"Nah, jus' to warn you is all." He said casually as he moved around the room, playing with little trinkets as he went, returning some and stealing others. "Probably in my best interest."

"Your 'best interest'?" She enquired. "Well, you've told me something I already knew, and you want me to give you something I don't want to give you." She read him like a book, she had already figured out what he had come there for. "Why do you want the Angel? He is of no value to you."

"He doesn't need to be valuable to me; I have no debts, not anymore." Gambit replied firmly.

"No, not currently; but you have always been unstable my dear; and you will always have to stay in my good graces." She was going off on a tangent again, he was tired of it.

"Where is he?" He asked her.

"He is perfectly well, better in fact. He's out on an errand for me at the moment." Gambit's heart sank; he had hoped to find him and bring him back to New York. He didn't expect him to not be there or to be running errands for the mad woman. The part time X-man known as Angel was most likely a lost cause.

"What kinda errand?" Gambit asked, since information was free flowing from her.

"I needed more samples, older samples." She responded. He knew that that could only mean one thing, he just hoped he wasn't too late. Gambit's anger flowed into his hand; the spatula he had picked up was glowing white hot.

oOo

Rogue's eyes flew open.

"Remy!" She gasped.

**End of Chapter 67**

**A.N. January to July... Sorry for the delay, again! Though the wait may be long, I'm not finished nor abandoning this story so don't worry, there is always more to come! I'm loving the reviews to date, everyone's so nice even when I've been away, it's really cool! Chapter 68 is started, I'll try to be faster but now, sleepy time! G'night! ~Rí**


	68. Chapter 68

**R&R, RR**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters (mostly), this is just for entertainment!**

**Chapter 68**

_That morning..._

She woke with pains in her legs and skull, groaning as she opened her eyes. The pain was bad but it had been her state for a while now; that was not what woke her. Someone had called her name.

She looked out from her alcove to the others. Since they had taken the medicine the X-men gave them their energy levels were just starting to return to what they used to be, some were even relearning their powers. The change in their personalities was amazing. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that they actually missed their abilities, the very things that made them outcasts.

"Sarah." The little voice said again, it was Torpid.

"What?" She answered groggily though she was fully awake, she wanted her annoyance conveyed.

"Callisto hasn't come back yet." She straightened immediately at the concern in the little girl's voice.

"What do you mean, 'back'? Where did she go?" She questioned, she had only been asleep for a few hours.

"Food." He answered simply. "She went to find some. It's nearly dawn." Marrow jumped up.

"Probably just getting her kicks by cutting it fine." She replied sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than the girl. "I'll go look for her." She picked up her bone blades and set off down the nearest tunnel at a jog.

oOo

Storm walked down the corridor to Evan's room. She inhaled and knocked on his door three times.

"Evan?" She called. She waited a while but there was no answer. She felt a breeze at her toes and knew his window must have been wide open. "Evan?" She tried again. "Can I come in?" She waited a while to see if he would answer, but at this point she suspected he had already risen for the day or jumped out the window to avoid her. She opened the door and entered his room.

Had it been a stranger's room she would have thought that it had been ransacked, but she knew her nephew better than that, he was always untidy. What was different however was that the bed had been stripped of its pillows but otherwise it looked like it had not been slept in. She saw the pillows by the window and dents in the carpet from Evan's spikes. Sleeping indoors must have been too warm for him now compared to where he was used to and clearly he was opting for harder surfaces.

She had established that he was not in the room. It was barely dawn outside. She thought of where else he could have gone, not counting the obvious, that he went back to the Morlocks; she would not jump to that conclusion until she had searched the grounds.

She descended to the lower levels to see if he had gone to the Danger Room for a session. The second she got to the doors of the room, she was shocked by the damage she saw but recalled that Logan and Rogue were working in there last night and her shock subsided.

A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped, spinning to meet someone else who was getting an early start to the day. She jumped a little when she turned.

"Sorry, 'Ro; didn't mean to frighten you." She shook her head, letting go of her nervous energy.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you. Actually," She indicated to the Danger Room, "with the condition that is in, I wasn't expecting to see you ever again." She joked.

"Yeah, that reminds me..." Logan smirked in amusement at her comment but remained all business. "Gotta favour to ask; me and Rogue will be training outside today, could you repeat that trick from last week? You know, keep those damn reporters from takin' any paparazzi shots?"

"Of course." She nodded. But she had a favour to ask of him. "Have you seen Evan this morning?"

"Haven't seen 'im, but," He paused to sniff the air quickly, "He's in there." He nodded to one of the rooms further down the hallway.

"Thank you." She visibly relaxed and smiled, appreciating his useful tracking skills. She moved to head in that direction.

"Convince him to take the cure yet?" He asked in a lowered voice.

"It's a constant battle." She sighed sadly as she started to walk towards to room.

oOo

Beep beep beep!

Hank jumped to the sound of the pager built-in to his communications device. He nearly knocked the coffee mug off of the table when his arm reached out to grab the beeper. He had to quickly adjust his wry glasses in order to read the text.

"Everything alright, Mr. McCoy?" Evan asked as he bent down to pick up the folder that the Beast had dropped and scattered at the noise.

"Hmmm?" Hank replied, looking up at Evan with a furrowed brow like Evan had just asked him if he should invest in a blue tutu or a pick one, and then shook his head to get the flow of words started again. "Am, yes; my algorithm got a hit already." He stared at the text as he moved for the door, before remembering his manners. "Oh, am, please excuse me, Evan." He waited for his response.

"No probs, Teach." He waved him off but the Beast waited a moment.

"Evan, you're making the right choice." He reassured him. Evan shrugged. "We'll talk later?" He waited until he got a nod before opening the door. He almost walked straight into Storm.

"Good morning, Ororo." He greeted her.

"Morning, Hank." She looked over his shoulder to her nephew. "Evan." She added to the greeting.

"I may have something." He held up his beeper as if it was self-explanatory. He quickly dashed out past her to the multi-media room. Ororo opened her mouth to say something to Evan but couldn't think of what she wanted to say.

"I'm going to go and see what he's talking about." She panicked and turned to follow Hank. Things were so tense between them; she didn't want to fight with him again not when he would be leaving so soon. She just wanted him to be happy and healthy but all they did was argue.

She almost forgot why she was following in the Beast's footsteps until she saw it on the screen. He had brought up the pdf of what got him so animated. She squinted to make out the text.

"Essex...?" She asked.

Hank examined it as well.

"It's from Oxford. 'Essex, N.'" He read aloud, it was in plain sight, but what followed was more interesting. "'1939'" He read the year, the start of World War II. He examined the subject matter, it was written about the Americans' super-soldier. Essex was examining the scientific explanations for Captain America's strange abilities.

"But the woman in Washington couldn't have been old enough to write that?" Ororo added, doing the maths in her head quickly. "Janette was convinced that she was in her 50's or maybe 60's at the oldest." She was baffled by the information.

"She was an expert in genetics," Hank theorised that she had invented an amazing good anti-wrinkle cream or perhaps, "Maybe she's a mutant? With a healing factor, like Logan?" Ororo shook her head.

"If that were the case then she should look younger." She rejected his idea, and furrowed her brow in thought. "Was she on staff? Are there any more publications in Oxford?" Hank quickly hacked in to the library to gain full access to the online material. Xavier had entered the room as he was searching and getting up to speed by talking to Ororo.

"Wait, what's this?" Hank disturbed the pensive silence as he brought up what he was looking at. It was a scanned announcement in the Oxford student newspaper. They read in silence. 'Our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Nathaniel Essex, staff researcher, Oxford Biology and Genetics Department, consultant, has passed away unexpectedly. His family have requested privacy during this time; the University is holding a memorial service at the Chapel on Tuesday evening. All are welcome.'

"When was that published?" Xavier asked. Hank quickly checked.

"Twenty years ago." He answered promptly, around the same time that she was presenting in Columbia.

"N. Essex, Nathaniel Essex and Claudine Renko, what's the connection? If they were just colleagues, why would she now call herself Natasha Essex?" Storm asked.

"Perhaps Claudine Renko is her pseudonym?" Beast suggested. Xavier thought of the timeline and the age difference for the most logical explanation.

"Maybe he was her father?" He thought out loud as the rest of the room wondered with him.

oOo

"What's so interesting?" Roberto asked when he spotted Tabitha looking out the window across the front garden.

"I think Rogue is trying to barbeque him..." Tabitha said slowly before turning to Sam. "Medium rare." She concluded.

"Uh, Tabs, that's sick." Cannonball muttered quickly deciding that he was better off not having breakfast this morning.

"That will end well." Roberto replied to her, picturing the scene as Kurt and Rahne walked in the door.

"Don't go out there, unless ye want to see what a half-burnt, vicious Wolverine looks like!" Rahne exclaimed.

"Ah wouldn't wanna be in his shoes." Cannonball commented.

"She's kinda scary, with all those powers?" Jubilee expressed her fears quietly.

"Bad-ass is more like it." Tabitha contradicted looking out the window again as Kurt looked pointedly at Jubilee.

"I'd like to see any of you try to handle her powers as well as she has." Kurt diplomatically conveyed his annoyance.

"Logan is going through hell and back to help her." Amara added. "You should have seen the Danger Room this morning, before she put it back together again. Last time it was that bad, it was 'cause of Jean." The group descended into private thought as the flames died down outside.

Tabitha clapped her hands together.

"Okay! Who wants bacon?!" She asked as she head over to the stove. A collective groan of nausea was uttered from the room as they quickly vacated. "What?!" She called after them. "Extra crispy?!"

oOo

She transformed to metal again, Logan waited and watched for signs of trouble as did he from his bedroom window.

Piotr was confined for the day at the insistence of his Katya to ensure that he rested after the concussion that he had received from the night before. Kitty was keeping a close eye on him, checking in periodically and preventing him from leaving; for such a small woman he was amazed that she already had him wrapped around her little incorporeal finger.

Daytime television and cartoons were not of interest to him so he turned his attention to the show outside that morning and had not been able to stop watching. He saw the fireworks familiar to him as Pyro and now he was watching Rogue use his powers.

After a discussion with Kurt, Kitty had informed him of Rogue's new strategy for her training and he had to admit he felt a little violated at the idea. However, it was comforting to know that he wasn't being singled out and, trying to see it from Rogue's perspective, he could understand.

He watched and admired Logan's restraint; he seemed to know when she needed space and when she needed him to intervene and bring her back to reality. He hadn't seen him teach the other students much since Piotr had joined the X-men but he could see that Rogue would be a special case; her powers were that of the population of school twice over.

As an observer, he wondered if she was making sense of it all and gaining peace that she wanted. He wondered what that meant for Rogue and what that meant for the personalities she had absorbed; could she possibly be able to sort out the real memories from whatever was in his head or hers? Could she undo the damage of psychic interference?

Kitty entered the room with his lunch on a tray, he turned his thoughts to her.

oOo

_Rogue nodded and took his hand. They headed off at a run, the bayou was nearby. Rogue guided him to the best take off point into the water and he commandeered a boat and spare raft that he tied onto the back. Rogue took up a position at the front, her eyes scanning their surroundings as she was remembering where they needed to go. _

_He followed Rogue's directions, trusting her easily. They were going the longer way, more covered and less protected as Rippers usually preferred to use the short cuts. Rogue guided them away from a mine, as they passed it; he lit up some confetti paper from the parade to reveal the water-mine as they passed. _

"_Nice..." He voiced his admiration, he was genuinely impressed. _

"_So, all this trouble and Ah thought you didn't like your father." She asked a perceptive question. _

"_Ah don't;" He replied quickly and bitterly. He thought of Jean-Luc and how he treated him like a disappointment until he had his powers, and then a disappointment for wanting another life than the self serving one Jean-Luc had mapped out for him, "Just because someone adopts you, it doesn't make them a parent." He spoke from one adoptee to another._

"_Yeah." Rogue's shoulders sagged as she agreed. He recognised that sag._

"_Mystique?" He asked softly. "You mean it wasn't her motherly instincts that led her to take you in?" _

"_Let's just say it was my powers that she wanted to nurture." Rogue pushed some plant life out of the way as she answered. He nodded. _

"_You and Ah, we could write a book about it; been down the same roads." He said sadly._

"_Difference is, you're here tryin' to save your father. That's more than Ah did." Her shoulders slumped again. He felt a little guilty over what he was doing to the girl, using her to get Jean-Luc back; but he didn't feel guilty for long, he knew it was the only sure way to get to his father. All going according to plan, she wouldn't have to know that she was used again; he just hoped it all went according to plan._

_They remained quiet only for Rogue giving him directions. When it was time to get the other raft ready, he helped Rogue in and kept it pulled up in parallel with the boat until they passed in view of the house. They split away from the boat quickly after that using his bo-staff to steer them out of danger. Rogue was right; a grenade was launched and destroyed the decoy. It was a cowardly trick, he really hated Julian for it but loved that they now had the element of surprise to their advantage. _

_They silently and slowly made their way over to a pier to dock in the mist. Rogue led them up to the house to a good entrance point. He was just assessing their strategy when suddenly Rogue knocked them both to the ground. _

"_Get down!" She whispered loudly. They rolled down the hill with their combined momentum. He started to get up when Rogue's ear accidentally touched his uncovered finger..._

Gambit's memories were hard to go through, his powers seemed to have a built in psychic layer that made it harder for her to crack and process. It was fortunate that Cerebro was available to help her through it but it was still hard work. She had started with the freshest memories she had from him from Louisiana and was going to have to work backwards to get to where she needed.

_The train slowed to a stop. Once he had mentioned the final destination Rogue became a much more pleasant travelling companion. They snuck away from the tracks and weren't far out from the heart of the French Quarter. The town was bustling with life, music and colour and the air was warm and smelled of spice, smelled like home. There were people all around, dressed in costume; no one would look at them twice. He swiped a few strings of beads for Rogue, which she appreciated._

"_Ah always loved Mardi Gras!" Rogue announced, allowing him to see a genuine smile for the first time. "No matter who ya are ya fit in." He couldn't help but smile back. This was still a con, and she was still a mark, but he still liked the girl; he wasn't planning to say goodbye immediately after he used her powers and rescued his father._

"_First time Ah've been here without workin'." He replied, stealthily sneaking something out of a passer-by's pocket. _

"_Workin' at what?" Rogue turned to him. _

"_Gettin' by." He held up a wallet, showing off his skills. Rogue scowled at him. Rogue quickly snatched the wallet and returned it to the man under false pretence while he spotted the Rippers hang-out. "Hungry?" He asked when Rogue had returned. "'Cause that lil' jazz club right there has the best Jambalaya." _

_They found a quiet corner in the club, but it didn't take long to catch the eye of a Ripper and see their recognition. Just as he had hoped, they quickly disappeared for back-up. _

"_Ah forgot how much Ah really miss these kinds o' places." Rogue interrupted his thoughts. _

"_Yeah," He played along with the conversation keeping one eye open for Julian. "Nothing like this up North." He chit-chatted back. _

"_So, you've always been a thief?" Rogue asked to keep the conversation going as she started to play with her beads. _

"_Well, let's jus' say it runs in the family." He replied vaguely to see her response. He wasn't sure how much Rogue had learned about his past since they touched while Rogue was under Mesmero's control. He was going to play it safe._

"_What, you mean like your father?" Rogue asked. He actually let himself get distracted and forgot to watch for Julian's arrival. _

"_Huh," He huffed, "If you can call him that; fact is Ah gotta go see the bum sometime tonight." Then something caught his eye. "Julian." They were already surrounded before he saw him. He hadn't changed a bit, still as smug as ever. _

"_Well, if it isn't de infamous Remy LeBeau; dis just saves me de trouble o' huntin' you down." They were grabbed and held back by two of Julian's goons. He could hear Rogue swearing next to him, she had some mouth on her._

_He looked over at Rogue and it was like she read his mind. They both grabbed the guys holding them and tossed them over their respective shoulders, tossing them into Julian and bowling him over. This girl could fight, he observed as he took out the last guy next to him with a sweep to the legs using his bo-staff. He watched Julian get up as Rogue came up next to him. _

"_Borrow this?" Rogue asked, taking the bo-staff from him to take out Julian. She didn't take long sending him through the back door of the Jazz club out onto the streets, breaking down the door as he went. He admired Rogue's handy work. _

"_Thanks!" Rogue tossed the staff back to him. _

"_Anytime." He replied as his admiration and respect for the girl grew. He let himself get tackled by one of Julian's guys hoping for Rogue to use her powers to save him. She kicked him off easily instead, it was getting frustrating that she wasn't using her powers but instead fighting. He saw two more of Julian's boys running at him but they weren't senior enough to know all the Ripper's secrets yet. It had to be Julian. He charged up the parking meter and let up explode in their faces. _

_He heard Julian's approach before he felt the tackle that took them both into the wall. Julian swung his arm back for a punch but Rogue had snuck up behind him. She touched him and he collapsed to the ground. _

_Rogue swayed from the effect of using her powers. He hadn't witnessed that before, from Magneto's tapes she had taken it in her stride. He started to feel a little guilty about getting her to touch Julian; her powers weren't as straight forward as he had thought. _

"_Time to go." Rogue physically jumped back from him when she opened her eyes but they needed a quick getaway so he grabbed Rogue's necklaces and charged them as he pulled them off of her neck. The beads were sent into the rest of the Rippers. He grabbed Rogue's wrist as they exploded and pulled her away back on to the main street. _

_Rogue let herself be dragged for a minute but then wrenched her arm away. _

"_Alright, Ah got a dose of info from that lung, you're part o' some crime family called 'The Theives Guild'?" She accused him. Time for the poor soul act. _

"_Was, not anymore." Which was the truth. "Ah'm sorry you got involved in that, Rogue." Which wasn't the truth. _

"_And this Julian," She continued, "He's from a rival family?" Rogue asked. _

"'_The Rippers'." He supplied. "Look, thanks fo' your help, really; but now Ah gotta go take care o' some stuff." _

"_Why didn't you tell me they kidnapped your father?" She demanded to know, showing that she knew in the process. _

"_Because you don't need any more troubles." He started to walk away from her. _

"_What are you gonna do?!" Rogue called after him._

"_Go get him, soon as Ah find out where he is!" He called back with a shrug, pretending to not understand Rogue's powers. He ended the conversation at that and walked around the corner. He had Rogue right where he wanted her. There was one road where she could walk away and be alone, another where she could run back to the X-men where she didn't fit in and where no one was on her side or a third road, helping out someone in trouble who seemed to be her only friend in the world right now. It should be an easy choice for her. _

_Just peeking his head around the corner to look back at her, he saw her make her mind up. _

"_That's right, Cherie; come on..." He whispered before turning back to keep walking, pretending like he hadn't paused at all. He smiled at a pretty girl that smiled at him. Suddenly he spotted Cyclops up ahead on the same street; the X-men had come for Rogue and had managed to track them here. He figured the only way they would know how to do that would be by tracking their powers; he had heard that they could do that but he thought it was just Magneto being paranoid. _

_He quickly turned and almost ran into Rogue. _

"_Ah need to talk to you." Rogue whispered as she was corralled to an alleyway. "What's the matter?" Rogue asked urgently as they walked into the shadows while he looked over his shoulder to see if they had been spotted._

"_Am, Ah jus' don't want you to be seen with me, it's dangerous." He made up the lie quickly but Rogue seemed to buy it. _

"_Listen, Ah know where they're keeping your father." Rogue admitted. _

"_You do?" He leaned in to hear more. "Where?" _

"_Blood Moon Bayou, but you'll never get past their sensors and water-mines so Ah'm going with you." Rogue decided. _

"_No, no; Ah'll manage on my own." He walked away again waiting for Rogue to stop him. _

"_Gambit, Ah had the chance to do something like this before and Ah didn't. Ah need to do it now." It was what he had wanted to happen but he felt guilty when he heard it said. Rogue was still doing self-prescribed penance for whatever she had done to Mystique and he was taking advantage. With sincere reluctance, he agreed to let Rogue join him on the rescue mission..._

Rogue's stomach fluttered, she had been right; he was doing the wrong thing but for the right reasons. She knew that he genuinely liked her but he still was willing to lie to her rather than just tell her the truth. It was incredibly frustrating then, but now she had learned to keep her cards close to her chest too. He had learnt that lesson well before her. She was wondering if he had really changed much since they touched in Louisiana...

_He was watching her; it was about for her to wake up. Sure enough, he saw her eyes flicker. _

"_Ah've been watching you for weeks, Rogue." He started then quickly wished he had phrased it in a way that sounded less creepy. "You're such an unhappy girl." He wasn't lying on that one. Rogue lunged at him from her side of the boxcar but she fell to the floor quickly, he was glad that he had taken the time to restrain her. _

"_Is it any wonder?!" She shouted as he watched her test her restraints before rolling over to face him. "What do you want with me?!" She demanded._

"_Ah don't want anythin'," It was time to play the saviour big-time, "It's what you want; Ah'm just openin' the door fo' ya." The lie was so easy for him. Rogue was the mark; the promise of freedom was the con._

"_The door to what?!" Rogue spat out. _

"_Freedom, the chance to jus' walk away." He helped her back into a seated position. "Ah know from experience that the first step is always the hardest, so Ah'm just givn' ya a little push." She was having none of it however. _

"_Untie me!" She shouted. _

"_Ah will, ah will," He promised. "Once you realise Ah'm doing you a favour!" He walked back to the open door on the car, keeping his distance and showing that he meant no harm. But Rogue was feisty; he hoped that the Stockholm effect would help him when it came time to undo her bindings._

_Rogue managed to stay quiet for hours, he suspected it was out of spite for the present situation he had her in; but he couldn't blame her, it was unusual way to make friends. He had kept himself entertained by playing solitaire, refusing to be the first one to speak in this game of cat and mouse. Occasionally whistling, humming and flicking cards waiting for her to comment. Eventually Rogue's patience wore thin and his paid off. _

"_What is it with you and cards?" She asked, staring crossly at the half-pack in his left hand. He smiled that she had finally said something. He made sure to look at her as he answered. _

"_Well, it's like having fifty-two explosives tucked away in one lil' pocket." He flicked the deck from one hand to the other. He took the top card from his right hand and turned it. "Ah always save her fo' last." He watched the anger die in Rogue's face, replaced with her reluctant curiosity, playing right into his plan._

"_The Queen of Hearts?" She asked. _

"_Mmm, my lucky lady." He kissed the card for added dramatics. "She's gotten me outta a whole lotta jams." He said reverently. _

"_Then Ah need a deck o' those." She turned away from him. He was surprised by her openness so soon; it was the first sign of her trust. _

"_It is nice," He came down close to her, "Havin' someone watch over you, Rogue; so if you're ready to accept my help, Ah can untie you." He explained simply. Rogue seemed to consider it a moment._

"_Okay." She agreed softly and looked away._

"'_S jus' time that you took charge of your own destiny, is all." He added as he undid the bindings by charging the ropes with just enough power to burn silently until they were weak enough to fall away. She rubbed her freed wrists as he repeated the trick at her ankles._

"_Good idea." Rogue answered with mischief in her voice, it was then that he realised his mistake; the tables had been turned, it was his turn to be mark. _

_Rogue pushed him away and swung her legs around to deliver a hard kick to his torso, sending him flying for the door. He grabbed either sides of the doorway to stop himself from falling out completely. He watched her take the bo-staff out of his inside coat pocket and extend it, discarding his coat. Rogue slammed bo-staff across the door frame, hitting his fingers precisely on both hands. He vocalised his pain briefly as she leant her knee on the staff, increasing the pressure on his fingers. She leaned out to talk to him. _

"_Ah don't like getting pushed in any direction, got it?!" She shouted out to him over the noise of the wind in his ears and the train tracks. He smiled._

"_Point taken!" He yelled back to her. "Now here's mine!" He lit up the entire boxcar with kinetic energy as he grinned. "Pull me in or Ah blow this boxcar off the tracks!" Rogue hesitated. He was a gambler but Rogue could surely tell that he wasn't about to kill her or risk derailing the train when there were other live on board, but he stared her down anyway. _

_Finally she grunted in frustration and reached down to grab the front of his uniform to pull him in. _

"_You're just crazy enough to do it." So she decided to go with that excuse for not calling his bluff. The girl couldn't admit that she was starting to like him a little. _

"_We do what we have to; right, Cherie..." He replied in a low tone too close to her for her liking, evidently, as she promptly let go of his uniform to take a swing at him. He blocked her fist easily and grabbed her covered wrist. He peeled off her glove for the biggest bluff of the evening. "Ah'm not afraid," He held up her hand to his face, "Absorb my thoughts." He saw panic on Rogue's face. "See fo' yourself that Ah mean you no harm." He held her hand in place letting her decide what to do, he saw the fear turn to annoyance; annoyance made sense but why was she afraid at all?_

_She wrenched her hand free and walked away. _

"_Like Ah want you inside my head." Rogue commented as she stormed to the back of the car. His bluff had paid off. Rogue picked her spot to sit and he quietly joined her resuming their game of patience. A long while had passed before she was ready to talk again._

"_What makes you think Ah was ready to leave the Institute?" Rogue asked quietly. He idly played with his cards as he answered. _

"_Oh, it's been obvious. Besides, Ah overheard you talkin' to that 'Nightcrawler' fool." That riled her up again. _

"_You've been spyin' on me?!" She raised her voice as she looked over her shoulder at him. _

"_No," He placated, "Jus' lookin' out fo' ya." He pretended to be more interested in the cards than in her. He waited for her to say something. _

"_So, ah, where's this train goin'?" Rogue asked quietly. _

"_Louisiana." He answered. _

"_Really?!" She asked with energy, he couldn't help but laugh at the excited response. _

"_Ah do believe that's your neck o' the woods, isn't it?" He smiled at her. Rogue turned away, clearly she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her smile..._

She hadn't been concentrating for long when she took off the helmet for a breather. But what was seconds for Logan could have been hours or days for her. Logan overheard her mumbling something about being an 'arrogant something or other'. He could guess what the rest of that sentence was. She didn't even open her eyes before she went under again, putting Cerebro back on.

_He was watching her walk to school again, each day she was taking longer and longer to get there; Rogue wasn't happy. He needed her help, but maybe they needed each other's. _

_She stopped walking, paused and turned around, today might be her day. Rogue was going to run. She was so distracted that she didn't even see the German boy walking behind her until she bumped into to him. _

"_Kurt!" She sounded jumpy. Kurt looked angry with her._

"_Excuse me, I'm late for school." He replied with venom in his voice. He was starting to understand why the girl was looking so depressed, what had happened though was still a mystery. _

"_Kurt, wait, Ah-" She stammered, not thinking the sentence through apparently, "Ah don't know what made me do that to Mystique..." Rogue shook her head in shame, real shame. Gambit was listening intently. "Ah just-" The Nightcrawler didn't let her finish. _

"_It's pretty clear, Rogue; there's only one reason to push someone off a cliff." He bit out. Gambit's eyebrows shot up. Mystique was stone the last time he saw her, Apocalypse had killed her, was Kurt referring to a metaphorical cliff or had she-_

"_Ah'm sorry." She called after him as Kurt walked away from her. He stopped and turned back. _

"_Are the rumours true? That you're thinking about leaving?" He asked, sounding sad. He obviously was angry with her but would miss her when she was gone? _

"_Maybe." She looked away from him. "Ah don't know yet." She turned back to head in the opposite direction of the school and Kurt also moved away. _

_Rogue was alone. He saw his chance and he took it. He jumped out and grabbed her covered arm pulling her into the shadows with him. Rogue struggled and fought instantly. _

"_What do you think you're doin'?!" He immobilised her by wrapping his arm around her petit frame, restricting her movement by holding her close._

"_You are way too tense, Cherie!" He knew she wasn't in the mood for a friendly conversation yet. "And Ah have just the thing for you, something to help you relax..." He sedated her and she fell to the ground. _

_He picked the girl up and carried her over his shoulder easily to the nearby tracks. He snuck them both on to the South bound train without trouble or observers, which was lucky as it would be hard to explain the situation to a passer-by. _

_Rogue was going to be out for hours but he took the proper precautions restraining her, when she woke up she would not be happy. He took out his cards and started to amuse himself as the train moved off..._

Rogue breathed out and opened her eyes finding Logan's immediately.

"Goin' okay?" He asked.

"Slow." She responded in a frustrated tone. Gambit wasn't even there yet somehow he was still managing to drive her crazy.

"Less dramatic." Logan observed.

"Just wait." She closed her eyes, then opened them again to share a confession and warning. "Ah actually haven't accessed his powers before, Logan. Ah'm not too sure what to expect." She admitted.

"I'm not going anywhere." He reassured her in his way before she closed her eyes again.

"_Quand est-il allé manquant?" __He asked her urgently, dropping his bag of stuff that he had just packed up. With Magneto dead his steady employment gig was up, it was time to move on. He listened urgently. _

"_Hier, mais c'est vous qu'ils veulent. Vous savez c'est un piège, enfant." __She warned him. "Vous avez quitté cette vie, il n'ya aucun sens pour revenir." _

"_C'est mon père, Tante Mattie." The words were like dirt in his mouth. He glanced over at Pyro at the console who was watching old security videos, taking a break from watching Magneto's death over and over again, the psychopath. Something on the screens caught his attention. "J'ai un plan... __mais ça va prendre du temps..." He hung up the phone with his Aunt and watched the action replay of Rogue taking them out while under Mesmero's control..._

Rogue now knew how she became his inspiration, and realised that she was fluent in French via Gambit. She also picked up on the great respect he had for his Tante Mattie. She was like a mother to him, and the only one from that life that he still trusted. She kept going.

_He dropped the man at his feet. Another day, another local. Mastermind probed, but to no avail. He followed Magneto, mostly out of boredom but also to tell him that it was another bust. _

"_Same ol' story, prophecy about an ancient warrior who's gonna return one day and rule the land." The story rolled off of his tongue. _

"_They know nothing!" Magneto rounded on him causing him to jump back. "Apocalypse will not rule this land, not as long as I'm alive." He wondered who Magneto was trying to convince. Magneto walked off. Gambit turned around and came face to chest with Piotr. _

"_He's getting more impatient." Piotr observed. _

"_There's only one way this'll end." He commented as he passed the Russian to head back the way he came. By the time he had walked back to the entrance, he could hear raised voices coming from the direction he had left. _

"_You are failing me! Now if you ever want to see your family again, you will find answers." He heard Magneto threaten. _

"_Your wounded pride drives you to madness." He turned the corner and saw Colossus, who was holding Magneto against the wall, suddenly fly up into the air hitting the opposite wall up high._

"_I will crush you like a tin can!" Magneto shouted. _

"_Then you will do it without the aid of magnetism." Piotr transformed back to his normal skin, with all metal gone he dropped out of the magnetic hold to the ground. "Let's see how well you fight like a man!" Piotr grabbed Magneto and threw him across the room. He had respect for the Russian, having heard what Magneto threatened, but there was more at stake than his family. _

"_Easy now muscles." He stopped his charge with his bo-staff. The man batted away the stick. _

"_This does not concern you." Colossus got in his face. _

"_Like it or not, it concerns us all!" He got in his. "We got one bad mutant out there and Magneto is our best chance at bringing him down." The two men stopped fighting but they went their separate ways. _

_He had meant what he said. Magneto wasn't a nice guy, or someone to look up to, he was a dictator. Gambit was in his good graces but if you were against him he was cruel. That was not someone he was willing to follow. But if it was him or Apocalypse, it was better the devil you already work for. _

_The next few hours would not have been classed as a friendly work environment but it was then that they had gotten their first bit of information in a long time. The dome over the Mayan pyramid was all over the news. Magneto had decided that it was time for action, but they had learned nothing useful; the plan was premature at best. He gathered together scrap metal to create an orb, but only one._

"_Hey, wait a minute!" Gambit shouted. "Whadya mean you don' need us?" He spoke for the group when it was evident that Magneto was not bringing them with him. _

"_This is between higher evolutionaries, and I guarantee you only one of us will survive." Gambit was pretty sure the answer to that question was not going to be him. Considering how discriminatory Magneto was being among his own kind just then, he didn't feel any way attached to the man for going on a suicide mission. He should be grateful he hadn't sent them first in as his pawns. Magneto floated up into the orb and he sealed himself in._

_They watched the battle unfold on the hand held television that Pyro had. Magneto fought bravely, but died quickly. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. He wasn't a very nice guy, but in comparison to Jean-Luc, he was a saint. He never called him a freak. Magneto even seemed to like him on occasion, and by like, he meant, that he wasn't as disappointing as the others. _

_He turned to Colossus and was met with an icy cold glare. Gambit had stopped the fight between them earlier, and now the only one who knew where the Russian's family was was dead and Piotr was none the wiser as to their whereabouts. There was nothing he could do about that now but accept his share of the blame. The Russian turned and left. _

"_There goes ah' ride home." Pyro concluded loudly and switched off the little monitor, turning to him and Wyndegard. "How do we get out of this country?" Gambit rolled his eyes._

Rogue took a moment. She wasn't sure how she felt about that either. Magneto's 'Higher Evolutionaries' comment had riled her too. Gambit felt a little guilty that he didn't feel worse about Magneto's apparent death; Magneto had taken him in as an Acolyte when he had left the Guild but it was a job, not a kindness. Gambit had replaced one cruel patriarch with another. She realised that the Institute was the first place that had accepted Remy without an agenda, and he left because of her...

She continued trudging through his memories. She watched Magneto's obsession grow to the breaking point, from when she set Apocalypse free to Magneto's death. She watched Gambit play the peace keeper between Logan and Sabretooth while they were searching for her the entire time from Bayville to Tibet. They had survived a very painful psychic attack from Mesmero with Xavier's help; the pain of that memory had taken her by surprise, it was worse for Gambit than it was for Logan. Gambit blew the door off of the chamber into Apocalypse's tomb, she watched them fight Mesmero and win. She saw Apocalypse emerging and witnessed his triumph. Though Gambit had been brave, like the others, he had no idea what they were facing.

She saw their defeat from Remy's point of view; another perspective on a scene that she had seen many times through the eyes of others but never witnessed herself. She watched the others wake around her slowly. She felt Gambit's stomach and hers drop and flip in the few moments between waking and Logan emerging with her unconscious body. There was a tangible moment, that she had felt through everyone, when they thought she was dead; even Logan had thought that for a split second.

"Okay, that was weird..." She shook her head and took off the helmet for a second. She had just witnessed through Remy's eyes the security footage in full from Magneto's layer. She watched herself take out Magneto and his Acolytes while under the control of Mesmero. Those memories had always been foggy in her mind. The fact that she had briefly kissed Gambit to knock him out was nothing new to her, but what was new were his thoughts while watching the footage for the first time. He was the only one that wasn't afraid of her as he watched the playback; he had felt a mix of attraction, respect, concern and fear for her safety once he had realised what was going on.

"What was weird?" Logan asked, he was nearer than she had thought; she blushed ferociously when he interrupted her inner dialogue.

"Nothing." She quickly replied and shoved the helmet back on not wanting to elaborate or share those details with Logan.

_It was like waking from a dream, he knew what he had done but it was foggy. He had a card lit in his hand, it was the first thing he noticed. The second was Magneto standing in front of him, holding a mutant hostage in a fence cage that looked recently fashioned. He didn't ask questions, he guessed he had been used by a telepath and that the dream really happened. He followed Magneto and their new friend back to base for answers. _

_Mesmero pulled a Houdini on them with Worthington's half of the Spider Stone. Fortunately, by then Magneto's new recruit, Mastermind, had gotten a sufficient amount of information worthy of an overseas trip to London to chase him down. _

Rogue watched firsthand the fight she had missed in London; she also got to see how good Remy's driving skills and powers were when he tried to kill the giant green spider with a double-decker bus. It had been enough for Magneto to destroy the thing. When he learned from Xavier that it was a Guardian, he was annoyed, not afraid. He hadn't met Apocalypse yet, if he had he would have been afraid.

The jobs Magneto had sent him on were getting more interesting. The previous week had been a trip to Bayville to talk to the Brotherhood, or just threaten them but they were too easy out smarted to call it entertainment.

About a month before that it was fighting the X-men and the Brotherhood and leading them into a trap to fight the Sentinel, the event that broadcasted mutants to the world. He had grown up being treated like a freak, hiding his eyes to avoid questions, lies; now they were announced to the world he no longer had to hide that part of him if he chose not to. It was liberating and long overdue. It was a chance for change.

That was how they had crossed paths; Magneto had heard that there had been plans in place to build weapons targeting mutants. Someone who was aware of them and who had a lot of financial backing was planning to get ahead of the market before mutants were revealed to the world. There in lay the problem; Mystique, his best spy, was no longer on his side.

Magneto wasn't going to hire a human to be his spy, he needed a mutant. Magneto had heard of a professional thief with unusual eyes but Gambit had left the New Orleans Guild by that time. Gambit was working for himself half ways around the world when Magneto had tracked him down, which Rogue knew through Magneto's memories was by using Caliban to find him.

Magneto hired him to break into many places to steal information, all with the single purpose of finding information on weapons to be used against mutants. It didn't take long to realise that Trask was the kingpin of the weapons; Gambit found out everything that he needed to know from breaking into each of Trask's suppliers' Warehouses. Gambit even found one almost completed Sentinel unit, it was an eye-opener of the shape of things to come. Magneto told him not to destroy it and that it was a fact finding mission only, his instincts were to make it explode and take out the entire factory, he fought his instincts. To Gambit it had been an interesting job with a worthy cause, to Magneto it was Gambit's audition. After seeing the Sentinel, Gambit didn't need a sales pitch when Magneto offered him a place on his team.

oOo

He held a package in his hand, it contained two doses. Evan looked around his room, trying to decide if there was anything he would need, or more importantly if there was anything the group would need. He stuffed a few things into a bag and slung it over his spiked shoulder. He had what he needed; there was no point in dragging it out any longer.

He headed downstairs to the garage where a car was waiting. He opened the door to the front passenger seat and climbed in.

"Go." He said to Ray, who was sitting in the driver's seat. Ray hesitated.

"Did you find Storm?" He asked. Evan clenched his jaw.

"Mr. McCoy will tell her." He decided. "You can fill her in on the rest." Ray was very uncomfortable with the plan and Spyke was annoyed that they weren't moving yet. "Fine," He opened the door, "I'll walk!" He moved to get out of the van.

"Wait!" Ray stopped him. "It's fine!" Evan closed the door and they set off for home. Knowing that he was going back he relaxed after a moment. After another moment, Evan considered Ray's quick change of heart and smiled.

"You'll risk getting struck by Storm's lightning to see Marrow again?" He teased light-heartedly now that they were on the road.

"Yip." Ray replied without hesitation as he concentrated on pulling out onto the main road.

oOo

Rogue could feel a rebellious streak in Gambit. His main driver for joining Magneto and for helping him rat them all out as mutants was still stemming from his father, Jean-Luc. Even though he had left the Guild, he seemed desperate to go against him in any way possible, including his advice of hiding his abilities.

Gambit had left the Guild when he turned fifteen, he learned all the ways of the world as he travelled around putting his skills to the test. He took jobs more for the challenges than anything else, honing his skills and discovering the limits of his powers; she saw the Queen of Hearts saving his life on more than one occasion. He had also learned the ways of the world in other respects; Rogue knew he was a charmer and that he had a type, strong women and there had been a lot of women. She tried to take it as a compliment that he liked her but it was a lot of information that she did not need in her head.

She tried to focus on his powers. She understood how they worked, he could charge any inanimate object he touched and make it melt, burn or explode depending on how much energy he put into it; he also could set a delay on the charge which came in handy. His only limit was that he couldn't charge living tissue. He had other abilities, some of them were most likely due to his mutation; incredible balance, speed, his precision for throwing was partly due to his agility and strength but it was mostly because he practised to get that good. He had some sort of layer of protection against psychic attacks, but it was effortless for him, he did it without trying. But she still hadn't found the memory when he first discovered these powers. He must have been younger, she concluded.

After witnessing his adventures and many misadventures she was back in New Orleans, back in the Thieves Guild. Jean-Luc had been using him for more and more elaborate heists now understanding the full power of Remy's unique abilities, of course it was under the pretence that the gigs were for Remy to prove himself worthy of the Guild. It was partly true, Remy was adopted and his eyes screamed that to everyone in the Guild; they expected 'Le Diable Blanc' to work harder to earn his place among them. But most of it was Jean-Luc taking advantage of Remy as a weapon. Jean-Luc thought Remy hadn't figured out that he was just a pawn to him.

The last time they had met, Jean-Luc was convincing the other Guild members to join in a power play against the 'Rippers', the Assassins Guild led by Marius Bordreaux. Remy disagreed with Jean-Luc. Remy didn't want to propagate the family feud; he had done enough to hurt that family in the past himself. Jean-Luc attempted to put Remy down in front of the Guild members, he quietly reminded him that he was the reason the feud had reached that point; it was his fault but Remy was a child then. He got angry; Jean-Luc struck him first. Remy had let him as a gambit; it gave him permission to stop holding back once and for all.

Remy had fought Jean-Luc in front of the Guild members. They didn't interfere. Remy's agility and skill played to his advantage over Jean-Luc's experience. Remy defeated the leader of the Thieves Guild in what he considered a fair fight. With Jean-Luc losing a fight to his adopted fifteen year-old son, Remy thought it was the best moment to depart, leaving the Guild with a shamed and weak leader.

His memories were getting harder and harder to go through the further back she went, she really had to concentrate. When he was fourteen...

"_Remy!" He threw down the cards on the table between them. "You cheatin' bas-"_

"_Etienne!" His mother, Remy's Aunt, chastised him for his language from the kitchen. They were sitting in the back garden of his cousin's house; Etienne didn't know that the window was open. _

"_Mon chagrin, Maman!" He called back and ducked out of her sight. _

"_Ah don' cheat! You're jus' no good!" Remy replied to his younger cousin with a laugh and reached over to scoop up the winnings. Etienne reached out to snatch his cards off of the table and turning them over next to his. _

"_De deck ain't got two Ace o' Spades, LeBeau!" Etienne grabbed his coins out of the pot and gathered up his cards. Theoren glanced up from one of the locks he was picking for practise. _

"_You shoulda had mo'n one suit up yo' sleeve!" He said to Remy. "Did Ah teach you nothin'!" He sounded disappointed in a mocking way._

"_Playin' wit' you is no fun anymo'!" Etienne shouted at him. _

"_Jus' steal yo' money back from me later." Remy said simply. "Won't be a problem fo' ya if you been practisin'." He shrugged._

_Theo and Remy always enjoyed teaching Etienne the tricks of the trade even if Etienne didn't like their methods, they were good motivators but Etienne was too confident for his own good. He tried stealing from some Italians, he didn't realise that they were in the family. Etienne was going to have to make it up to them and they refused to let him go until he had paid back the debt. Theo and Remy came up with a plan. Remy offered to take the debt and punishment instead of Etienne as a ploy to rescue his twelve year old cousin. When the moment was right, Etienne ran, he dropped his cards; Remy took them and charged them as they made their escape, creating a massive explosion behind them. It would have worked only for Etienne stopping to look back at the explosion, witnessing Remy's powers for the first time. Remy shouted at Etienne to keep going but Etienne was hypnotised, he didn't see the bullet coming..._

Rogue gasped. She took off the helmet like it was going to bite her and cried loudly. She cried for her cousin and for Remy. His powers had been a secret that only he and Jean-Luc knew about. Jean-Luc made him swear not to tell anyone, to practise in secret. If the rest of his family had known, if Etienne had known, he wouldn't have been surprised when Remy used them for their escape. He would have kept running. He wouldn't have been shot.

Logan was at her side before she even realised it. Her hands were covering her face trying to smother the sound she was making. He didn't say anything but slowly the warmth from his hand on her shoulder started to register and she tried to regulate her breathing.

"Rogue?" He was asking two things; was she her and was she okay, all in one word. She exhaled shakily and nodded.

"Jus' caught me by surprise, 's all." Her voice crackled. Logan didn't pry to Gambit's obviously painful past, he just waited. She coughed to clear her throat and dried her cheeks, taking a moment before continuing. She was learning bit by bit the little pieces in Remy's past that were gathering like a stone in his stomach, it was adding weight to hers.

She nodded to him again to signal that she was fine. He squeezed her shoulder before letting go. She took a calming breath and put back on the Cerebro headgear...

_Remy found Theo sitting on his own after the funeral. Jean-Luc didn't let Remy go, but he snuck out anyway and watched from a distance. He tried to apologise to Theo but he looked at him like he was an alien. _

_"__Get away from me!" He shouted and threw a punch when Remy tried to touch his shoulder in sympathy. Remy could have blocked the punch but he took it, he deserved it. He let Theo take his anger out on him until Remy blacked out._

_He woke up in his own bed. His father was there, chastising him for being careless. It wasn't an overly protective father speech; it was a speech that made him feel worthless. He was yelling, bordering on taunting him. He told him how stupid he was for going to the funeral and for revealing his powers at all, let alone to the Italians and that because of him Etienne was dead, who was more of a son to him than Remy would ever be. Remy wasn't even blood. _

_Remy got up and went to escape through his window but it was nailed shut, there was no sneaking out this time. He didn't understand what was going on. His father was in his face, still taunting cruelly. It wasn't until he called him a freak that he snapped. He balled his fist tight and took a swing at his father. His father ducked and he missed the hit but his arm continued as his body twisted, following through with a kick to the older man's head, knocking his father to the ground. _

_He stood over him panting. His father looked up, staring straight into his eyes with surprise, not at the kick, but something else entirely. He demanded to know what he was so surprised about. His father said nothing and left the room. Remy turned and caught his reflection in the mirror and saw his fist with fire and his eyes laser red. It was dramatic looking and Jean-Luc had seen Remy's powers before, but Jean-Luc hadn't realised that Remy had been holding back from him..._

_Much of the time between the ages of twelve and fourteen had been Remy learning to control his powers and testing their limits almost completely in secret. There was only one person who knew of his powers up until Etienne's death and that was his father. Jean-Luc was interested in Remy's powers and cared of little else but in any requested demonstration Remy had held back. Jean-Luc didn't deserve to know what Remy could do, not fully. The only time Jean-Luc had been something of a father to him was when his powers first came through..._

_It was dark but he had to find his way out. He ran when they found them. A stupid mistake nearly cost him but he saw them coming and he had enough sense to know when he was out matched. He ran away, it was his fault that he was in this mess in the first place. He was good but he got carried away into the heart of the lion's den. What was he trying to prove, that he was as tough as the others? He was always getting himself into trouble but now he was careless for getting her involved too. _

_The place was old and abandoned. It used to be some sort of lab or hospital, he wasn't sure. He heard the voices getting closer. He pushed Bella to the ground towards a hole in the floor. He told her to hide. He discarded his cheap sunglasses, the building was dark and he needed to see properly to fight. It wasn't long before they found him. He tried to not look them in the eyes so they wouldn't see his. One of the teenagers struck him from behind, he quickly handed back what he had taken. _

_They looked like they were going to leave but one of them turned to kick him before he left, but Remy saw it coming and couldn't resist fighting back. He caused the older boy to fall by quickly sweeping a leg out from his crouched position to knock the boy's legs out from under him. The others looked at him and caught a glimpse of his eyes._

_"__What de-" The first boy said in a trance._

_"__His eyes!" Another gasped. "Le Diable!" He uttered._

_"__Get 'im!" The guy on the floor shouted. His eagerness and bravery cost him. They ganged up on him; they called him a freak before he passed out..._

_He wasn't in hospital, he wasn't at home but he was bandaged on his arm, his leg and his head. Jean-Luc sat beside him, watching him, afraid of him, but his eyes were telling him something bad had happened. _

_"__Wh-where am Ah..." He groaned, his throat was dry and sore. He felt sick to the stomach and his head hurt a lot. He coughed. _

_"__Ah brought ya here, Remy." Jean-Luc answered him. "Ya 'member what happened?" He asked. Remy started to panic. _

_"__Ah... Ah was sloppy, got jumped... Don' remember much after dat..." He said quietly, which was the truth. He tried to get up._

_"__Nah, you stay still." Jean-Luc pushed him down gently by the shoulders. _

_"__Where 're we?" He looked around trying to get his bearings. _

_"__Where it's safe." Jean-Luc replied simply. _

_"__Why, dey still after me?" Remy asked still looking around._

_"__Non, child; safe fo' everyone else." Remy looked straight at Jean-Luc paralysed. Jean-Luc sighed. "Remy, sometin' happened yesterday, no' jus' the beatin'." Jean-Luc started. "Ah'm not sure how to explain it, not sure what Ah saw but..." Remy was confused, what happened after the beating; he couldn't remember. "Son, you made de buildin' explode." Jean-Luc told him. Remy hadn't set a fire, or explosives. _

_"__Non, Ah didn't!" Remy objected. "Ah didn't set anytin'!" Remy was convinced that he was being wrongly accused. Jean-Luc held up a hand, Remy stopped talking. _

_"__Non, Remy; __you__ made de buildin' explode, just by touchin' it." Remy didn't understand. "You been making tings explode in yo' sleep." Jean-Luc continued. "'S how ya got dose burns." He gestured to his arm and leg. He started to panic. _

_"__Non, you're lyin'!" He shouted at Jean-Luc thinkin' it was a sick and twisted game. Jean-Luc tossed him a coin. Remy caught it and watched it glow with energy. He stared at it. "Wh-what's happenin' to me?!" Remy became afraid of the coin and threw it across the room. It exploded in the corner and he jumped up, standing on the bed pressing himself into the back wall of the room. Jean-Luc ran over to stomp out the flames that were burning on the carpet where the coin struck. _

_"__Now you believe me?!" Jean-Luc replied. Remy didn't say a word. He was stuck to the wall, trying to remember what had happened. He clutched his head and felt the bandage covering a heavy wound at the back of this head. He must have hit his head hard not to remember anything. What was he?! Not just funny looking eyes, he really was a freak and a dangerous one. He thought back to the building. _

_"__Did Ah hurt anyone?!" He asked, his eyes open wide with shock when he realised what he did. Jean-Luc looked back at him. _

_"__Dose boys dat attacked you made it out well before it happened but dey won't remember you..." Jean-Luc said, Remy knew Jean-Luc would have gotten Jericho to use his Voodoo powers, it had been a default method of covering tracks on the rare occasion that jobs went wrong. Jean-Luc paused trying to find the words, but he knew what he was about to tell him. "Remy... Did you know Belladonna was dere?" Remy collapsed against the wall sliding down feeling like he was trapped in a nightmare that wouldn't end. _

_"__Bella, non..." He whispered as he started to shake. Jean-Luc was in front of him in a second._

_"__Remy! Remy!" He grabbed his face with both of his hands. "Dey don' know it was you, hein! Dey don't know!" He was making sure he was listening. "No one must know, Remy, no one!" Remy didn't understand, Jean-Luc was telling him to hide, to pretend he had nothing to do with it. "If de Bordreaux find out about you, dey'll kill all o' us! De Guild won't protect you from dem!" Remy heard what he was saying, he wasn't kin. They'd hand him over in a heartbeat. _

_"__Non, you should let dem kill me! Ah told her to hide, it's my fault!" Remy shouted, his heart rate going through the roof. _

_"__You shouldn't die for a Bordreaux, even if it was your fault." Jean-Luc told him firmly. "Now calm down 'fore you kill me too!" Remy had his hands on Jean-Luc's jacket, lighting it up on fire. He had to concentrate hard to extinguish the energy. He let go of Jean-Luc and crept back into the corner and breathed..._

_Rogue was heartbroken for him. Not once did Jean-Luc tell him that it was an accident, that it wasn't his fault. Remy was only twelve, he was only a child. No child should have to be forced to carry guilt like that._

_But Rogue was even more confused than ever. The morning before he had no active powers, then he took out a building but with no memory of doing so and woke up with active powers. She hadn't encountered this problem yet with any one she had gone through; without a memory of activation how was she supposed to activate his powers in her?_

_She concentrated longer and harder on that day, striving to find some shred of memory of his powers. It was then that she felt his presence through Cerebro for the first time since the night Alex died, and he was in trouble. _

_Rogue's eyes flew open. _

_"__Remy!" She gasped. _

**End of Chapter 68**

**A.N. Longest chapter ever, almost four times the length of the average chapter; the length is partly to make up for reiterating a lot of scenes from the series but as you can see there was a lot of Remy's past to catch up on here though we end at the same point as the last chapter. What do you think? Leave a review below... **

**~Rí**


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